Archive · 10 Nov 2025
Meta Accused of Illegally Downloading Porn Movies for AI Training
Imagine a company, Meta, is trying to build smart computer programs called AI.
Some movie companies are suing Meta, saying Meta secretly downloaded over 2,000 adult movies from the internet without permission.
The movie companies think Meta did this to help teach its AI how to understand things.
Meta admits its workers downloaded the movies, but says they only did it to watch them for themselves, not to train the AI.
They also say downloading a few movies isn't enough to teach an AI.
This is a big legal fight because using movies without permission to create new technology can be against the law.
Meta is facing a $359 million lawsuit from Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media.
The lawsuit accuses Meta of illegally downloading over 2,000 explicit movies via torrents.
Accusing companies allege the movies were downloaded to train Meta's AI models.
Meta admits employees downloaded content but claims it was for personal viewing, not AI training.
Meta argues that the quantity of downloaded movies is insufficient for AI training purposes.
- Who
- Meta, Strike 3 Holdings, and Counterlife Media
- What
- Meta is accused of illegally downloading over 2,000 explicit movies via torrents, potentially to train AI models.
- When
- Lawsuit filed, with publication date November 10, 2025
- Where
- California, USA
- Why
- The accusing companies allege the downloads were for AI training, while Meta claims they were for personal employee use.
Accusing Companies
Meta's Defense
Purpose of Downloaded Content
Accusing Companies
The downloaded movies, over 2,000 explicit content films obtained via torrents, were used to train Meta's AI models.
Meta's Defense
Meta admits employees downloaded movies but claims it was for personal use, not AI training. They argue that downloading 22 movies per year is insufficient to train AI videos.
Legality of Actions
Accusing Companies
Downloading copyrighted explicit content via torrents for any purpose, especially AI training, constitutes illegal activity.
Meta's Defense
Meta openly admits to the downloads for personal viewing, implying this is a lesser offense than using it for AI training, though personal use downloads are also illegal in many countries.
- Lawsuit Filed By
- Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media
- Lawsuit Amount
- $359 million
- Alleged Number of Movies Downloaded
- Over 2,000
- Alleged Method of Download
- Torrent seeds
- Number of Meta IP Addresses Linked
- 47
- Date of Publication
- November 10, 2025