You & the AI piracy scandal

Have your books & articles been pirated & then used by Meta/Facebook?

This message just arrived from the ACLS, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society. I guess there’s been so much other news that I missed this story today. I think it will affect many of my subscribers and colleagues, and has long-term impact on all of us.

There’s a link below to check for your works in the pirate site LibGen, which has been used by Meta to train its AI models. I thought I might find a few of my publications there. Instead, I found dozens of books that I have written or edited, as well as articles I contributed to various journals. Take a look—I’ll bet many of you will find the same thing when you search your name.

The email was addressed to members of the ALCS, a UK organization I joined when I first was published by Arlington and Piatkus Books. But Meta is American and the problem is international.

The Atlantic is certainly breaking the stories these days! There are lots of action items, including a day of protest tomorrow focused on Facebook and Instagram. Here’s the email from the ALCS:

Meta and LibGen

It was recently revealed by The Atlantic that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has used LibGen, a vast database of pirated material, to train its AI models.

We recognise the shock and anger that our members have expressed on this issue, and will continue to campaign for better protections for creators and to stop the unauthorised use of their works. You can read more about our response here.

What can you do?

• Find out if your works have been included - Check to see if your works are included on the LibGen database

• Tomorrow (3 April), the Society of Authors is urging anybody concerned by these events to flood social media (especially Meta platforms) with your objections. - Get involved! Find more information and assets.
  

• The Society of Authors has coordinated an open letter that will be sent to Lisa Nandy demanding that Meta be held to account. You too can add your name - Petition · Protect authors’ livelihoods from the unlicensed use of their work in AI training - United Kingdom · Change.org
  

• You can write to Meta and assert your rights. The Authors Guild in the US has provided a template - Send a Letter to AI Companies Telling Them They Do Not Have the Right to Use Your Work

  

• Write to your MP about the issue of AI. You can still use our Writers Write service to make your feelings known about the Government's approach to AI legislation.

We still need cheerful things, so here are the first daffodils and the gorgeous hellebores, the ice rose, which somehow waited till the snow melted