A company that produces adult films and has been called a “copyright troll” by a federal judge is now taking on tech giant Meta. And in a surprising twist, it has won an early victory. The case, Strike 3 Holdings vs. Meta Platforms, is currently unfolding in a San Jose federal court.
On June 11, 2026, U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee denied Meta’s motion to dismiss the case. This means the lawsuit can move forward. The judge wrote that Meta’s defense “strains credulity.”
What is Strike 3 Holdings Accusing Meta of Doing?
Strike 3 Holdings, the company behind adult brands like Blacked, Tushy, and Vixen, claims that Meta illegally downloaded its movies to train its artificial intelligence. According to the lawsuit, at least 2,396 of Strike 3’s films were torrented a total of 6,008 times from 2018 to 2025 using 47 IP addresses owned by Meta.
Strike 3 says the downloading was not random. It points to evidence that suggests an algorithm was used. For instance, downloads based on the keyword “teen” included both children’s cartoons like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and adult films with similar titles. The coordinated and simultaneous nature of these downloads, the company argues, shows they were part of a deliberate effort to gather data for AI training, not for personal entertainment.
Why is this Case Seen as Ironic?
The case is getting a lot of attention because of who is suing whom. Strike 3 Holdings has a long history of suing individuals for illegally downloading its films. The company has filed more than 21,000 lawsuits across the U.S.
The firm was criticized in 2018 by federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who called it a “copyright troll” and said its legal tactics were a “high-tech shakedown” that treated his court “as an ATM.” The company typically threatens to sue for up to $150,000 but offers to settle for a few thousand dollars, often pressuring defendants to avoid public embarrassment. Lawyers estimate this strategy has earned Strike 3 about $15 million to $20 million a year.
Now, Strike 3 has “hooked a big fish” in Meta, a company with a profit of $60.5 billion last year. If Strike 3 were to win on all claims, it could be entitled to about $360 million in damages.
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Meta’s Defense and the Judge’s Rejection
Meta argued that Strike 3 failed to prove the company itself was responsible for the downloads. Meta suggested that the torrenting could have been done by employees, contractors, or even visitors on its network.
The judge, however, found this argument unconvincing. The patterns of downloading “strains credulity,” she wrote, making it unlikely they were the work of random individuals. The court also noted that the company does not have to prove the films were specifically used for AI training at this early stage; it is enough to claim that the copying itself was a violation.
A spokesperson for Meta called the claims “bogus” and said the company will “fight this lawsuit aggressively.” For its part, Strike 3 says it is the creator of “artistic” and “inspiring” pornography.
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