# Meta ordered to name executives who approved torrenting for AI training

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-10-20T03:40:00Z · updated 2026-10-20T10:44:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/meta-ordered-to-name-executives-who-approved-torrenting-for-ai-trainin

## Summary

A federal magistrate, Thomas Hixon, issued a discovery order in a class‑action lawsuit filed by authors including Richard Kadrey and Sarah Silverman, and a separate suit by publisher Entrepreneur Media. The order requires Meta to identify the supervisors, managers and executives who authorized the use of copyrighted books downloaded from shadow libraries such as LibGen and Anna’s Archive for AI training.

Meta has argued that its early data‑collection effort was “informal” and that no senior officer made a formal decision, saying staff merely “technically” downloaded torrents. However, testimony from Meta employees indicates that at least a director or VP level approval was needed, and internal messages suggest the decision to pull 80.6 TB from LibGen and 35.7 TB from Anna’s Archive may have been escalated to Mark Zuckerberg. Authors contend the company made a willful choice to induce infringement, while Meta claims it relied on mitigations to avoid seeding the files.

The ruling could force Meta to reveal a chain of command that may expose senior leaders to liability and set a precedent for transparency in AI‑training data practices.

## Key points

- Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon ordered Meta to disclose executives who approved torrenting for AI training.
- Authors allege Meta downloaded 80.6 TB from LibGen and 35.7 TB from Anna’s Archive, possibly seeding the files.
- Meta claims decisions were informal, but staff testimony points to director or VP‑level approval and a possible escalation to Mark Zuckerberg.

## Why it matters

The order could hold senior Meta leaders accountable, shape legal expectations for AI data sourcing, and influence industry practices on training‑set transparency.

## Sources

1. [Meta ordered to name execs who approved torrenting for AI training](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/meta-ordered-to-name-execs-who-approved-torrenting-for-ai-training) (arstechnica.com, 2026-10-20)
2. [Meta ordered to name executives behind torrenting of books for AI training](https://cryptobriefing.com/meta-ordered-name-executives-ai-torrenting) (cryptobriefing.com, 2026-10-20)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Meta ordered to name executives who approved torrenting for AI training", 20 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/meta-ordered-to-name-executives-who-approved-torrenting-for-ai-trainin

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