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Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has been embroiled in another AI controversy. The lawsuit claims that the tech giant has used pirated adult films to train its AI models, which has led to a widespread debate among the tech community worldwide.
It is still not clear to what extent these allegations about “pirated porn for AI” are factual. However, the matter has turned the debate upside down and made both critics and experts in the field ask: how much will the AI companies stretch their limits to satisfy their insatiable algorithms?
A lawsuit filed by Strike 3 Holdings claims Meta illegally downloaded thousands of its adult films through corporate IP addresses as early as 2018, purportedly to train secret AI models such as an adult version of “Movie Gen.”
Meta responded by asking the US district court to dismiss the case, calling the allegations “guesswork and innuendo.” The company contends there is no evidence it directed or used those downloads in AI model training.
Meta notes that the alleged downloads spanned seven years, starting in 2018, before the company’s significant push into generative video and large language models. The number of downloads tied to Meta IP addresses averaged about 22 per year, a figure Meta argues is far too small for meaningful AI training datasets.
The complaint also alleges a “stealth network” of some 2,500 hidden IP addresses linked to Meta, which the company rejects as speculative.
Meta emphasises that its internal policies explicitly forbid the generation of adult content within its AI systems, making the plaintiff’s theory of training on such content inconsistent with Meta’s rules.
The company also argues that thousands of contractors, visitors, and third parties access its network daily, meaning the downloads may reflect personal use by individuals rather than corporate directives. Meta describes the lawsuit as part of a pattern of “copyright troll” claims aimed at extracting settlements.
This case is part of a growing number of battles over how large technological companies use data to train AI. Meta has previously faced lawsuits by authors accusing it of using pirated books without permission for its AI models.
The current case expands the conversation into video content and the adult film industry. As a result, it underlines questions about transparency, dataset sourcing, and the responsibilities of AI developers.
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The outcome of this allegation could largely impact how AI companies justify their data practices, particularly in the context of using copyrighted materials. If Meta continues to maintain its defense, a need for clearer internal accountability arises rather than sweeping industry blame.
However, if the court finds evidence supporting the claims on Meta, it could set a precedent that transforms AI regulation and transparency all over the world. Either way, the case highlights a critical truth: the race to build smarter machines must never outpace the responsibility of using data ethically.
