London Book Fair Features AI Protest
Over 10,000 authors are protesting AI data scraping at the London Book Fair 2026 by featuring in a new “empty” book, “Don’t Steal This Book” [https://downthetubes.net/dont-steal-this-book-ai-protest-at-london-book-fair/, https://deadline.com/2026/03/dont-steal-this-book-10000-authors-protest-london-book-fair-1236748879/].
The "empty" book, *Don't Steal This Book*, is a physical manifestation of the authors' opposition to the unauthorized use of their works to train AI models. The Authors Guild is heavily involved in this demonstration against AI companies scraping copyrighted material. Participating authors argue that their intellectual property is being exploited without consent or compensation. They are seeking greater control over how their work is used in the development of AI. The protest highlights the growing tension between the creative industry and the tech sector regarding AI development. It also serves as a call for clearer legal frameworks surrounding AI and copyright.
