Meta has found itself in an awkward position that exposes the worst of Big Tech hypocrisy.
The company aggressively removes legitimate news articles about piracy from Facebook, yet stands accused of downloading thousands of copyrighted films and books from pirate sources to train its AI models.
Recent events show Facebook’s automated systems flagging and removing news articles that simply mention piracy-related terms.
Meanwhile, multiple lawsuits reveal Meta allegedly used BitTorrent to download massive amounts of copyrighted content for AI training purposes.
Facebook’s Overzealous Content Removal
Facebook’s anti-piracy tools have gone haywire, automatically banning legitimate journalism from TorrentFreak that discusses piracy topics. The platform removed several news articles about MagisTV, a popular streaming app.
The removals weren’t limited to independent tech sites. Facebook even removed an official ACE press release announcing MagisTV convictions. These automated systems appear to flag any content mentioning certain piracy-related keywords, regardless of context.
When reporters tested the system by posting legitimate news articles, Facebook removed them within minutes. One account faced suspension threats for repeatedly posting factual news stories about piracy enforcement.
Meta’s Secret AI Training Operation
While Facebook censors piracy news, court documents reveal Meta’s own massive piracy operation. Adult film producers Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media filed a lawsuit alleging Meta downloaded at least 2,396 of their films since 2018 for AI training.
Hide Your Digital Fingerprint
The companies claim Meta used BitTorrent to pirate content, then shared those files with other users to increase download speeds. Meta allegedly operated this scheme through corporate IP addresses and hidden “off-infra” servers to conceal the activity.
This isn’t Meta’s first encounter with pirated training data. The company admitted in another lawsuit that it obtained books from shadow libraries and pirate sources to train its Llama AI model.
The Scale of Big Tech Hypocrisy
The irony becomes even more stark when considering the numbers. Facebook removes news articles for simply mentioning piracy apps, while Meta allegedly pirated thousands of copyrighted works worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Strike 3 Holdings seeks up to $359 million in damages for willful copyright infringement. With potential fines of $150,000 per work, Meta faces serious financial consequences for behavior it actively polices on its own platform.
Meta’s legal team argues this massive piracy operation qualifies as “fair use” because the content trains AI models with a different purpose than entertainment.
We’ve recently seen Meta and other big tech companies get a pass from lawmakers to bypass copyright laws to train AI models due to ‘national security’ reasons.
Final Thoughts
Meta’s contradictory behavior exposes the self-serving nature of Big Tech’s relationship with copyright law.
The company removes legitimate journalism about piracy while allegedly operating one of the largest content piracy schemes in history.
This hypocrisy undermines Meta’s credibility as a platform committed to protecting intellectual property rights.
Users and content creators deserve consistent application of copyright rules, not selective enforcement that benefits the company’s business interests.
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For more information on this story, refer to the report from TorrentFreak, legal complaint from Strike 3 Holdings (PDF), and the U.S. District Court ruling (PDF).
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