Meredith Mooring
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meredithmooring.bsky.social
Meredith Mooring
@meredithmooring.bsky.social
1.1K followers 390 following 410 posts
SFF writer, employment lawyer, blind/albinism, guide dog user. REDSIGHT out now
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meredithmooring.bsky.social
@roundtablementor.bsky.social is holding an AMA on their account, but you can also ask me questions here about the program, what I’m looking for in a mentee, etc.
A white and blue graphic that says, “ASK ME ANYTHING! DROP YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS!” With a graphic of a book beneath it.”
November 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
Want an almost free book??? Are you bored with nothing to do but you want to think about space rituals and giant snakes and cults that worship stars? Download this from the Solaris books website for less than the price of a Diet Coke.
A rainbow graphic for the novel Redsight by Meredith Mooring that says “#Still Proud 0.99 eBook Sale! MEREDITH Ill K INT "A VISCERAL, REALITY-WARPING JOURNEY" - RYKA AOKI HERESY IS POWER CHAOS IS DIVINE REDSIGHT 0.99 *Website exclusive. Ends 23:59 14" July 25. ORM free. Titles available will vay by country”
July 9, 2025 at 5:15 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
The REDSIGHT👁️🩸 ebook is on sale for 0.99, an affordable price. L*nk below 👇
A photo of the redsight ebook on an ereader and text that says, “Award Season eBook Sale! SOLARIS MEREDITH MOORING *A VISCERAL, REALITY-WARPING JOURNEY" - RYKA AOKI HERESY IS POWER CHAOS IS DIVINE REDSIGHT 0.99 BSFA Award-Longlisted”
May 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
absolutely cannot believe I found this shirt in a JAPANESE thrift store of all places???!!
A photo of a denim shirt on a hanger with a patch on the chest. The patch says “WWII Veteran Served America.”
April 28, 2025 at 10:14 AM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
can't believe I finished drafting this two days before getting married and going on my honeymoon??!?!!!!

🌩️THE DARK SEASON🌩️ a sapphic climate fantasy about a blind woman, her guide dog, and the soul-jumping shepherdess who deceives her.
a moldboard that says "The Dark Season" in the center with nine photos. It has images of sheep, a German shepherd dog, a volcano covered in snow, a pale woman with blonde hair, dark water, a woman with dark hair, a frozen mountainous lake, a bruised eyelid that's closed, and three wolves playing together. a screenshot from scrivener that says "THE END" in all caps
April 10, 2025 at 1:01 AM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
I can't believe we're getting married in less than two weeks, and right after that we're going to Asia from mid April to the beginning of May. I don't think I've ever taken a break from work for that long. Ryan says I am banned from brining my computer, checking work email, or reading books. Which
a photo of me wearing a pink shirt sitting in front of a bookshelf with my hair down. a moldboard that says "The Dark Season" in the center with nine photos. It has images of sheep, a German shepherd dog, a volcano covered in snow, a pale woman with blonde hair, dark water, a woman with dark hair, a frozen mountainous lake, a bruised eyelid that's closed, and three wolves playing together.
April 1, 2025 at 8:30 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
You have to scroll past a list of all the attorneys. Once you get past that, you can generally see what's going on in the case. A lot has been filed just since last week.
A screenshot from PACER of the docket report for Kadrey et al. that says, " Date Filed # Docket Text 03/26/2025 500 ORDER. The Court declines at this late stage to address the plaintiffs' assertion (in their 487 opposition to Meta's request for leave to file a rebuttal report) that Meta is failing to comply with its discovery obligations. If Meta fails to produce material it is required to produce, the plaintiffs are free to seek relief under Rule 56(d) at the appropriate time (or to argue in their papers that they would be entitled to summary judgment if only Meta had produced documents that it needed to produce). Given the magnitude of this case, Meta is urged to take a "when it doubt, produce it" approach. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 3/26/2025. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (vclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/26/2025) (Entered: 03/26/2025) 03/25/2025 499 ORDER Granting as Modified 486 Meta's Request for Leave to File a Rebuttal Expert Report. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 3/25/2025. (vclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/25/2025) (Entered: 03/25/2025) 03/25/2025 498 ORDER on 428 431 449 479 Sealing Requests. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 3/25/2025. (vclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/25/2025) (Entered: 03/25/2025) 03/25/2025 497 Administrative Motion to Consider Whether Another Party's Material Should Be Sealed filed by Meta Platforms, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Michelle Woodhouse, # 2 Proposed Order, # 3 Sealed Meta's Summary Judgment Motion, # 4 Declaration Michael Sinkinson, # 5 Exhibit 1 to Ghajar Declaration, # 6 Exhibit 2 to Ghajar Declaration, # 7 Exhibit 4 to Ghajar Declaration, # 8 Exhibit 6 to Ghajar Declaration, # 9 Exhibit 7 to Ghajar Declaration, # 10 Exhibit 8 to Ghajar Declaration, # 11 Exhibit 10 to Ghajar Declaration, # 12 Exhibit 13 to Ghajar Declaration, # 13 Exhibit "
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
You'll then be able to determine the parameters of your report. Click "run report."
a screenshot from PACER that says "Docket Sheet Case Number 3:23-cv-03417-VC Kadrey et al v. Meta Platforms, Inc. Filed Entered to Documents to Include: Parties and counsel Terminated parties List of member cases Document options: Include headers when displaying PDF documents View multiple documents Format: HTML (unpaginated) PDF (paginated) Sort by "
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
To read the docket report, click on the case number. It will lead you to this page. Once you are on this menu type page, click "docket report."
A screenshot from PACER that says, " Mobile Query Query Alias Associated Cases Attorney Case File Location... Case Summary Deadlines/Hearings... Docket Report ... Filers History/Documents... Party Related Transactions... Status View a Document"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
If you want more info about this case, including a copy of this full motion and the filed copy of Meta's response, you can find info like this on PACER, which stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records.
A screenshot from PACER that shows Kadrey et al. v. Meta Platforms in a list of all cases in which Kadrey is a named plaintiff. The screenshot shows that Kadrey et al. is still an open case.
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
the plaintiff's attorneys ask the court to grant partial summary judgment, which would be a big win for all writers.
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "CONCLUSION For these reasons, Plaintiffs request that the Court grant Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
A quote from this fuck ass witness who works for Meta.

They don't care about the destruction they're causing.
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "million in sales because of online piracy.”28 Meta’s rampant copying showed little regard for the rights of authors, an attitude echoed by Meta’s Director of Business Development, AI Partnerships: mentioned they think we should spend more on licensing data for pre-training . . . . Melanie was 28 Davis, Cheryl L. & Kazi, Umair, Piracy of Books in the Digital Age, THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO COPYRIGHT AND CREATIVITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY, 21. Q. Do you not care whether Meta protects human creativity rather than exploits it in connection with its LLMs? . . . THE WITNESS: It's not something that I've given a lot of thought to; so my answer is I don’t care at this point. Ex. 91, Choudhury Tr. 309:18-310:2."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
There are several factors that have to be weighed when considering if conduct is "fair use" of a copyrighted work. What gets me is: these AI products aren't just educational, they are massive profit generating enterprises.
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "actor 1: Meta’s P2P Sharing Is Non-Transformative and Is Commercial. Nothing about “the purpose and character of [Meta’s] use” of pirated databases was “transformative,” though it certainly was “commercial.” See Campbell, 510 U.S. at 579. Meta torrented complete, unchanged copies of the Copyrighted Books and millions of other copyrighted works without paying for them. Meta did not reconfigure the default settings on its libtorrent client to prevent hosting or distributing data during the leeching or seeding phrases of torrenting. By failing to do that, Meta not only acquired millions of entire copyrighted works, including Plaintiffs’, but it also ensured that others could acquire the works too. Reproducing or offering to distribute copyrighted works to anonymous peer-users is commercial because the peers receive works for free that they otherwise would have to buy.44 The first factor thus clearly counsels against fair use. See Hachette Book Grp., Inc. v. Internet Archive, 115 F.4th 163, 190 (2d Cir."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
The Plaintiff's (writers) attorneys address Meta's "fair use" defense. I agree with them here that this defense is bullshit.
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "F.3d 1119, 1123 (9th Cir. 1997). Nevertheless, there exists a discrete set of infringing acts for which courts have held fair use cannot apply as a matter of law. Two such acts are relevant here. First, copying entire works from pirated databases to avoid compensating the rights holder cannot be fair use. That is unmitigated piracy not subject to a fair-use defense. Second, acquiring and sharing copyrighted works using P2P file sharing networks—a specific method of unmitigated piracy resulting in distributing copyrighted material to unknown third parties—also cannot be fair use. Meta engaged in both unprotected activities, warranting summary judgment to Plaintiffs."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
The legal standard for copyright infringement
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "V. META COMMITTED DIRECT COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW The Copyright Act protects a copyright owner’s “exclusive rights to,” inter alia, “reproduce the copyrighted work in copies[.]” 17 U.S.C. § 106. To establish direct copyright infringement, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant violated one of the exclusive rights protected under the statute by showing “(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.” Range Rd. Music, Inc. v. East Coast Foods, Inc., 668 F.3d 1148, 1153 (9th Cir. 2012); see also Skidmore as Tr. for Randy Craig Wolfe Tr. v. Led Zeppelin, 952 F.3d 1051, 1064 (9th Cir. 2020) (same). The second prong “contains two"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
They tried to cover up this web traffic by using Amazon web services.

In law, there's a concept called "mens rea," which translates to "a guilty mind" 🤨
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "Meta opted to hedge this risk by using Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) for its torrenting activities specifically, a deviation from Meta’s usual practice. When an engineer asked why “FB infra[structure]” could not be used, he was told it was to “avoid[] risk of tracing back the"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
AGAIN, THE SCOPE CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "stack of 2 billion pages of text.24 Given this enormous quantity of data, and the fact that it took over two months to torrent, sometimes on six virtual computers running in parallel, Meta’s concerns about the legal risks associated with torrenting were on point. Ex. 34, Clark 30(b)(6)"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
Meta became one of the largest hosts to pirated material. The scope cannot be overstated here.
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "had been uploaded to LibGen, plus millions of works from Internet Archive and Z-Lib. In so doing, Meta became a host and distributor of over 267 TB of pirated material—a size comparable to the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress twenty times over,23 or the equivalent of a"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
They made some unsuccessful attempts to mitigate their risks regarding seeding, but did not eliminate them completely.
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "Bashlykov wrote a script that worked to prevent “seeding” the pirated data after downloading was complete, but it did nothing to prevent Meta’s uploading of the pirated data while it was torrenting. See Ex. 71, Choffnes Report, ¶¶ 16, 19."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
Meta didn't just download the books, they torrented them en masse, and during the process they SEEDED THE FILES to other people pirating books. THEY HELPED OTHER PEOPLE COMMIT DIRECT COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
a screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "number of peer-to-peer [P2P] users.”19 In most cases, and in this case too, users who download via torrent also upload the same files they are downloading to reap the benefits of faster file sharing. In this regard, torrenting is a P2P system where “the downloaders of a file barter for chunks of it by uploading and downloading them in a tit-for-tat-like manner to prevent parasitic behavior.”20"
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
Some Meta engineers were actually concerned about this and some of them went out of their way to conceal what was happening, presumably because they knew it was wrong.
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "“a dataset we know to be pirated.” Ex. 61, Meta_Kadrey_00232241, at -244, -246. The use of pirated works was not widely publicized: senior leadership and engineers knew, but it was only conveyed to others “on a ‘need to know’ basis.” Ex. 62, Meta_Kadrey_00211848. Indeed, several employees expressed strong reservations. One Meta researcher commented, “I feel that using pirated material should be beyond our ethical threshold.” Ex. 32 at -171. Another referred to LibGen as an “illegal pirated website[ ]” and expressed that “it should not go in the training of the published model.” Ex. 18 at -700. One engineer, Todor Mihaylov, outright asked, “Is libgen this” while sharing a screenshot of a Google search result that read, “No, Libgen is not legal, and using Libgen may open you up to legal ramifications.” Ex. 63, Meta_Kadrey_00233325-326."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
We don't know for sure if they gave up on licensing due to the availability of pirated books, or if they did so for the sake of time, but either way, they resorted to piracy instead of legally licensing our books.
A screenshot form the summary judgment motion that says, "Meta’s book licensing efforts have never since resumed in earnest. One Meta engineer summed it up perfectly: “if we license once [sic.] single book, we won’t be able to lean into the fair use strategy.” Ex. 52, Meta_Kadrey_00209134, at -135 (emphasis added)."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
They tried to negotiate with the Big 5, and did successfully get licensing deals with other publishers.
A footnote from the summary judgment motion that says, "16 Ex. 41, Meta_Kadrey_00234554 (“We should try to get all the big guys: Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin Random House.”). Meta entered into preliminary negotiations with nearly every major book publisher about using their copyrighted works as training data. Ex. 42, Meta_Kadrey_00140688 (emails to Penguin Random House about licensing opportunity); Ex. 43, Meta_Kadrey_00152934 (emails to Harper Collins about licensing opportunity); Ex. 44, Meta_Kadrey_00051952, at -954-55 (strategy document discussing potential licensing deals for fiction with Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Bartelsmann). 17 Meta even successfully executed four licenses in 2022 with certain African-language publishers to use a limited number of individual books for training Meta’s LLMs. Ex. 45, Meta_Kadrey_00146968 (licensing three books for ); Ex. 46, Meta_Kadrey_00140774 (one-year licensing agreement with ); Ex. 47, Meta_Kadrey_00142650 (discussing three instances of having licensed books for training data)."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
At first, Meta tried to get a license for copyrighted work and had a massive budget to do so. They were prepared to pay millions for access to our books.
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, " To close the gap between Llama and its competitors, Meta pursued licensing deals with publishers in March and April 2023.16 These same publishers published many of Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Books.17 Importantly, Meta knew that the publishers’ books had significant value as AI training data, and for a time, Meta was prepared to pay millions to license them. In January 2023, Meta’s Business Development (“BD”) team was given a budget for “dataset licensing,” and by March, Meta requested to increase that budget to . Ex. 48, Meta_Kadrey_00207194, at -195. As deals with major publishers moved closer to fruition, the budget increased: “ would prolly be reasonable.” Ex. 49, Meta_Kadrey_00233332. By April, Meta discussed a for training data, including “ of our for books.” Ex. 92, Meta_Kadrey_00235020, at -029-030. As Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP and Head of GenAI put it, “It would be a travesty if our models suck because we didn’t spend on data.” Id. at -030."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
meredithmooring.bsky.social
What do you know some of the most negative, incriminating evidence against Meta has since "vanished." Wonder how that happened 😐
A screenshot from the summary judgment motion that says, "Meta_Kadrey_00159323. Once exploratory approval was granted, Guillaume Lample, a then- Meta engineer and now co-founder of AI competitor Mistral AI, likely torrented Meta’s first copy of LibGen. Ex. 34, Clark 30(b)(6) Torrenting Tr. 54:14-25. That copy of LibGen has since vanished from Meta’s possession, but employees within Meta speculated it was acquired via torrenting, as discussed further infra. Id. at 55:23-56-5."
March 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM