A group comprising authors together with poets, and publishing industry professionals assembled outside Meta’s London office on April 3, 2025. The authors and authors’ advocates exhibit discontent because Meta trained its artificial intelligence using numerous stolen literary publications. The Society of Authors, formed as a writer support organization, organized the demonstration. The authors demand that Meta to both acquire permission and offer compensation before using their literary works.
Why Are Authors Angry With Meta?
The authors revealed that Meta obtained its training materials from the website called LibGen. LibGen functions as a “shadow library” since its platform contains the illegal sharing of more than 7.5 million books and academic papers. Many authors found out their books were on LibGen after a news website called The Atlantic published a list of the books in the library.
Kate Mosse, Tracy Chevalier, and Daljit Nagra were some of the famous writers at the protest. They stood outside Meta’s office in King’s Cross, holding signs and speaking about how their hard work was taken without their consent. AJ West, a novelist leading the protest, said, “I felt sick when I saw my books on LibGen. Meta is using my work to teach AI, and I did not say yes to this. It feels like being robbed.”
What Did Meta Do Wrong?
Earlier this year, a court in the United States said Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, knew about LibGen and allowed the company to use it. Authors in the U.S., like Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, are also suing Meta for using their books without permission.
Meta says it did nothing wrong. A spokesperson said, “We follow the law when training our AI models.” However, the authors disagree. Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin from the Society of Authors said, “Writing a book takes years. Meta stole these books to help its AI copy creative work. This could ruin writers’ lives.”
How Are Writers Fighting Back?
Over 7,000 people signed a petition asking the UK government to make Meta explain its actions. The petition was started by the Society of Authors and signed by famous writers like Kazuo Ishiguro and Richard Osman. They want the government to call Meta’s leaders to Parliament to answer questions.
Anna Ganley, who works with the Society of Authors, said, “Pirated websites like LibGen are bad enough. But when big companies like Meta use stolen books to make money, it hurts authors twice. Writers deserve respect and fair pay.”
What One Author Says
AJ West, who led the protest, shared his story. “My books are my life. To see them used by a giant company without asking me or paying me is heartbreaking. Meta is acting like our work is free for them to take. It is not right.”
What Does This Mean for the Future of Writing?
Many authors worry that AI could replace human writers. If AI can copy books quickly, writers might lose their jobs. Children’s author Abie Longstaff said, “If AI writes stories like mine, who will need real authors? My work is being used to train robots, and I did not agree to this.”
Authors also say they earn very little money. In the UK, most writers make less than £7,000 a year from their books. Rowan Coleman, a novelist with 40 books on LibGen, said, “I work three jobs to pay my bills. Meta is a rich company using my books for free. This is unfair.”
A Global Problem
This protest is part of a bigger fight. In the U.S., writers are suing companies like OpenAI and Meta. In the UK, the government is debating new rules about AI and copyright. Some lawmakers want companies to ask permission before using books, but others say AI should be allowed to use any material unless authors say no.
Protesters in London carried signs with messages like “Meta Stop Stealing Books” and “Protect Human Creativity.” The Society of Authors wants people to share their stories online using hashtags like #MetaBookThieves and #DoTheWriteThing.
What Happens Next?
The protest aims to encourage Meta to modify its current plans. The authors require both government agencies to enact stronger legal protection measures for writers. The Society of Authors intends to continue advocating for fair treatment throughout their current defense against unfairness. Writer Daljit Nagra proclaimed that books extend beyond textual content. The authors view these literary compositions as fundamental parts of their emotional essence. Technology corporations are unable to remove this fundamental characteristic from our existence.
The authors’ message is clear. The writers demand that Meta, alongside other technology entities, show proper respect for their professional work. Writers predict that storytelling as we know it may face destruction by AI if current patterns persist.
