Meta Claims Uploading Pirated Books via BitTorrent for AI Training Is Fair Use, Drawing Authors' Displeasure

Meta has put forward a new defense in its copyright lawsuit with authors: the automatic uploading of pirated books via BitTorrent during downloads for AI training is fair use. The company claims that uploading is an inherent result of the BitTorrent protocol and a necessary means to obtain training data (e.g., Anna's Archive only supports bulk downloads via BitTorrent).
Authors' lawyers accused Meta of submitting the defense late at night to avoid deadlines, while Meta countered that the defense is not new. Additionally, Meta cited authors' testimonies stating that the model did not copy their book content, and emphasized its AI efforts help the US maintain a leading position in the global AI field. Currently, the case's focus remains on BitTorrent-related distribution charges.