Eminem’s music publishing company, Eight Mile Style, has launched a major lawsuit against Meta, accusing the tech giant of widespread and willful copyright infringement involving the rapper’s catalog. Filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the suit claims Meta exploited Eminem’s music across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, without proper licensing or payment.
According to the lawsuit, Meta allegedly stored Eminem’s compositions on its servers and made them accessible through user-generated content tools. This allowed users to layer the rapper’s songs over their videos, many of which were viewed billions of times, all without the publisher’s permission.
“Meta’s prolonged exploitation of Eminem’s catalog is another instance of a trillion-dollar corporation enriching itself at the artist’s expense,” the complaint reads.
Eight Mile Style argues that Meta’s platform architecture actively encourages unlicensed use of copyrighted music. By enabling features like “Reels,” “Stories,” and algorithm-driven recommendations, Meta allegedly incentivized repeated use of Eminem’s songs, multiplying instances of infringement. The suit claims this wasn’t just negligence, but a systemic design that profited from the artist’s work without fair compensation.
The complaint further alleges Meta used its algorithms — including the “For You” feed and “Trending” sections — to promote content containing Eminem’s music, contributing to unauthorized global distribution.
Eight Mile Style says it had previously contacted Meta about the unlicensed use of Eminem’s tracks, prompting the company to remove some of the content. However, many alternate versions — such as karaoke tracks, piano covers, and user-modified vocals — reportedly remained accessible and widely shared.
Other chart-topping songs from Eminem’s catalog also continued to circulate, the publisher claims, despite Meta’s apparent awareness of the issue.
The lawsuit seeks financial damages exceeding $109 million, along with an injunction to stop further unauthorized use. Eight Mile Style also wants Meta to disclose and surrender profits tied to the unlicensed distribution of Eminem’s music.
