The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has intervened in the Kadrey v. Meta case, a litigation that questions the legality of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, using copies of allegedly “pirated” books to train its artificial intelligence model known as Llama. The lawsuits have been filed by a group that includes renowned comedian and writer Sarah Silverman, who argue that Meta used BitTorrent to download these contents without proper authorization, raising questions about the legality of the materials used in training this technology.
Unlike other cases related to intellectual property that focus on fair use of material, the focus of this case is to question how Meta obtained the data in the first place. The implications of the court’s decision in this case could be significant, as if the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it could set an unfavorable precedent for artificial intelligence developers in future litigation that more directly address fair use.
The EFF has pointed out that the resolution of this case could significantly impact the future of artificial intelligence, including aspects such as its cost, capabilities, and how its evolution is managed. The organization warns that the future of this technology could be determined by an open and competitive market or, conversely, by the interests of a few oligopolistic actors. In this regard, they have emphasized the need for a thorough evidence-based analysis instead of being swayed by the alarming “piracy” claims made by the plaintiffs.
In its defense, the EFF argues that the technology used to obtain creative materials should not determine the legality of training an artificial intelligence model. The organization has urged the court not to allow Meta’s alleged use of BitTorrent to distract from the fundamental legal issues raised by the case. Additionally, they have cautioned against the risk of allowing the plaintiffs to create an exception in copyright law for copies obtained through this method, as this could restrict fair use in contexts that benefit society, such as training artificial intelligence.
The EFF has called on the court to dismiss any argument seeking to create a special category in copyright law for this type of downloads, warning that such a measure could undermine the analysis of fair use in the face of new technologies.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
