A group of prominent authors have signed an open letter calling on the UK government to hold Meta accountable for its use of copyrighted books to train artificial intelligence, sparking a David and Goliath moment for writers and those who make a living from their work.
A group of prominent authors, including Richard Osman, Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘I am a crime writer, I understand theft’ ‘– Val McDermid, Kate Mosse, and Val McDermid**, have signed an open letter calling on the UK government to hold Meta accountable for its use of copyrighted books to train artificial intelligence.
The letter, written by the Society of Authors (SoA), has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures and urges ‘Lisa Nandy’, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, to summon Meta** senior executives to parliament.
The Society of Authors is a UK-based charity that supports authors in various ways.
Established in 1884, the organization has a long history of advocating for writers' rights and providing resources to its members.
The society offers grants, awards, and other benefits to authors, as well as promoting literacy and literature through events and campaigns.
With over 9,000 members, the Society of Authors is a leading voice in the literary community, working to protect and promote the interests of authors worldwide.
Meta‘s use of a notorious ‘shadow library,’ ‘LibGen‘**, which contains over 7.5 million books, is at the center of the controversy. The company allegedly approved the use of this database without compensating authors for their work. This has led to accusations of copyright infringement and exploitation.
Authors are outraged by Meta‘s actions, arguing that the company is stealing from them twice over. ‘I am a crime writer, I understand theft’ – Val McDermid, a crime writer, explained. She believes that Meta‘s use of pirated material without permission is a clear infringement of copyright law.
The Society of Authors letter highlights the issue and calls on the government to take action. It states, ‘There can be no question that the scraping of authors’ works for the purpose of generative AI training is unlawful in the UK, yet tech giants like Meta are operating in the UK without sufficient enquiry being made into their practices.’
For writers and those who make a living from their work, this is a David and Goliath moment. The letter argues that copyright exists, and the law is clear. However, authors are almost powerless given the enormous cost and complexities of pursuing litigation against corporate defendants with deep pockets.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has faced numerous allegations of copyright infringement.
The issue often arises from user-generated content being used without proper licensing or permissions.
According to a study, 70% of online publishers have had their content shared on social media platforms without permission.
Meta's algorithms can also inadvertently spread copyrighted material.
In response, the company has implemented measures such as Content ID and Rights Manager to detect and remove infringing content.
The Society of Authors urges the government to ‘take all action available to ensure that the rights, interests and livelihoods of authors are adequately protected.’ Failure to act will have a catastrophic and irreversible impact on all UK authors.
