Writers and journalists protest outside Facebook’s Amsterdam office

Lira, the Auteursbond and the NVJ are organising the protest outside Facebook Netherlands’ headquarters in Amsterdam. They expect writers, journalists, translators and union representatives to take part. [1]

The groups want a collective agreement covering fair compensation, control over their texts and transparency from major technology companies. Writers and journalists say their work has been stored and shared in “shadow libraries” — online collections of copyrighted books and other texts copied and distributed without permission. [1]

The organisers have demanded that Meta, Facebook’s owner, stop what they say is its use of texts from shadow libraries. They say Meta’s response did not resolve their concerns, and that the protest is linked to a collective lawsuit being prepared against the company. [1]

Update

Writers, journalists and translators protested outside Facebook’s Netherlands office in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning over the use of their work to train AI models. Nieuws.nl reported that more than 100 people took part. Thomas Bruning, general secretary of the Dutch journalists’ union NVJ, estimated attendance at about 150. [2]

Stichting Lira, the Auteursbond and the NVJ organised the action. They want a collective agreement with AI companies covering payment, control over their texts and transparency from major technology firms. The protesters intended to present their demands to Facebook. [2]