Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is required to testify in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by authors against the company, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
The class action suit, led by comedian Sarah Silverman, accuses Meta of using copyrighted books without permission to train its artificial intelligence systems.
US District Judge Thomas Hixson rejected Meta's bid to prevent Zuckerberg from being deposed, citing his direct involvement in the company's AI initiatives. The court identified him as the 'principal decision maker' and 'policy setter' for Meta's AI operations.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023 in California, alleges that Meta illegally downloaded digital copies of books from 'shadow library' websites to train its AI language model LLAMA without consent or compensation to the authors. This case reflects a wider trend, as similar lawsuits have been initiated against other AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft.
Meta argued that Zuckerberg did not possess unique knowledge about AI operations that could not be obtained from other employees. However, the plaintiffs proved his specific involvement, noting his push to develop AI technology amid competition from ChatGPT.
The case raises significant questions about the issue of fair use in AI training, with potential ramifications for the broader AI industry. While Meta claims its training data was sourced from publicly available materials, it has not disclosed specific origins.
Prominent attorney David Boies, known for his role in the 2000 election dispute, has joined the authors' legal team, which includes notable figures such as writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.