Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution.
The enumerated rights of copyright owners are detailed in Title 17, section 106, with exceptions (e.g. fair use) described through section 122. The relevant portion is:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
My understanding is that the copyright office is using 1&3 in their interpretation. So my understanding is that Meta is violating copyright by downloading copies of copyrighted work if their use doesn’t fall under the fair use claims.
Here’s the interpretation by the US copyright office in their FAQ:
The enumerated rights of copyright owners are detailed in Title 17, section 106, with exceptions (e.g. fair use) described through section 122. The relevant portion is:
My understanding is that the copyright office is using 1&3 in their interpretation. So my understanding is that Meta is violating copyright by downloading copies of copyrighted work if their use doesn’t fall under the fair use claims.