French Publishing Groups Sue Meta Over Alleged AI Copyright Violations

A coalition of France’s top publishing and authors’ associations has taken legal action against U.S. tech giant Meta, alleging that the company has unlawfully utilized copyright-protected content on a large scale to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models, according to Reuters.

The lawsuit, filed in a Paris court earlier this week, comes from the National Publishing Union, the National Union of Authors and Composers (SNAC), and the Society of Men of Letters (SGDL). These organizations, which advocate for the rights of publishers and authors, claim that Meta’s AI training practices constitute copyright infringement and economic “parasitism.” Per Reuters, the plaintiffs argue that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has exploited copyrighted material without authorization for the development of its AI technology.

“We are witnessing monumental looting,” said Maia Bensimon, general delegate of SNAC, during a press conference on Wednesday. SNE Director General Renaud Lefebvre characterized the legal challenge as a David versus Goliath struggle, stating, “It’s a procedure that serves as an example.”

While this marks the first lawsuit of its kind against an AI company in France, similar legal battles have emerged globally. According to Reuters, multiple lawsuits have been filed in the United States against Meta and other technology firms by authors, visual artists, music publishers, and copyright holders over the use of their intellectual property in AI training datasets.

Meta has already been the subject of legal action in the U.S., including a 2023 lawsuit by American actress and author Sarah Silverman and other writers, who allege that their books were used to train Meta’s large language model, Llama, without consent. Additionally, American novelist Christopher Farnsworth filed a related lawsuit against Meta in October 2024. The broader legal landscape also includes cases against OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which faces multiple copyright lawsuits in the United States, Canada, and India.

This case could set a precedent in France for how AI companies engage with copyrighted content and may influence broader European regulatory discussions on AI ethics and intellectual property protections.

Source: Reuters