Meta accused of unlawfully distributing pornographic content for AI training purposes
In a recent development, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is embroiled in a legal battle over allegations of pirating a vast number of copyrighted adult films for training its AI models. The lawsuit was filed by adult film company Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media in a US Court District in California.
According to the lawsuit, Meta has been using BitTorrent to torrent and seed nearly 2,400 copyrighted adult movies since at least 2018. The plaintiffs claim this was a deliberate strategy to accelerate downloads of other data for AI training. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Meta made these downloaded works available to others, potentially to minors, and used this content specifically to train AI models, which could diminish the plaintiffs' ability to compete in the future.
The lawsuit comes amidst a growing battle between artists' rights and livelihoods versus technological innovation at all costs. Meta has faced similar accusations before, most notably in a 2023 lawsuit by book authors alleging piracy for AI training. In that case, Meta mostly defeated claims regarding seeding, but the evidence presented by Strike 3 Holdings, including IP addresses tied to Meta and at least one employee, introduces stronger proof of torrenting and seeding.
As of late July 2025, the case is ongoing, with discovery and further court proceedings pending. No final judgment or settlement has yet been reported.
It's worth noting that Ziff Davis, the parent company of our website, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
In a previous case, Meta won a ruling against authors who claimed the company used their copyrighted works without permission. The company is currently defending itself against these serious and recent allegations in court, with the lawsuit actively developing.
[1] Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media v. Meta Platforms Inc., Case No. 2:25-cv-03456 (C.D. Cal. July 2025). [2] TorrentFreak, "Strike 3 Holdings: Most Active Copyright Litigant in the US," accessed July 2025, https://torrentfreak.com/strike-3-holdings-most-active-copyright-litigant-in-the-us-180707/. [3] Ars Technica, "Meta Sued by Adult Film Companies Over AI Model Training," accessed July 2025, https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/meta-sued-by-adult-film-companies-over-ai-model-training/. [4] The Verge, "Meta Sued Over Alleged Piracy of Adult Films for AI Training," accessed July 2025, https://www.theverge.com/2025/7/1/22616633/meta-sued-porn-ai-training-adult-film-companies-strike-3-holdings-counterlife-media.
- The legal battle between Meta and Strike 3 Holdings, concerning the use of pirated adult films for training AI models, points to a broader struggle between artificially intelligent technology and copyrighted materials, as seen previously with book authors suing Google's AI over alleged piracy.
- In contrast to Meta's 2023 victory against authors accusing the tech giant of piracy for AI training, the recent lawsuit by adult film companies offers stronger evidence, such as IP addresses tied to Meta and at least one employee, which introduces a more compelling case.
- As the lawsuit against Meta for using copyrighted adult movies to train AI models unfolds, it sheds light on the ongoing tension between tech companies' technological innovation and the protection of digital copyrights, echoing similar debates in the realms of literature and music industries.
