A photographer has filed suit against Meta, saying the parent company of the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms should pay for allowing other people to post and share his copyrighted photos without permission.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Anthony Ayiomamitis, claims Meta violated the federal Copyright Act of 1976.
"Facebook allows copyright-infringing content to flourish on its platform, and even aids it," the suit says. "Facebook's actual knowledge of that infringing
content, and its conscious actions (and inactions) in the face of the widespread dissemination of that content, is well-documented."
According to the lawsuit, Facebook's own research found that about 40% of traffic on Facebook's platform was to pages that displayed copyright-infringing content.
"At least one Facebook representative has admitted that while Facebook may limit the distribution of copyright-infringing content through its repeat infringer policy, it does not remove that content and that content can still reach a large audience," the suit states. "Indeed, Facebook has ''deprioritized' solutions for cleaning up the copyright-infringing content on its platform."
The suit seeks removal of Ayiomamitis' photographs from Facebook, money damages and attorney fees.
Ayiomamitis is represented by attorneys Scott Alan Burroughs and Frank R. Trechsel, of Doniger/Burroughs, of
Ayiomamitis v. Meta Platforms, Inc., U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2:23-cv-0955