American e-book and audiobook subscription service, Scribd, has clarified its data usage through Terms of Service update, according to the PR Newswire. As per the update, users/subscribers/partners may not use the Scribd data for monetisation or training LLMs (Large Language Models) unless the company provides consent for the same. They have also denied giving permission to companies that train LLMs to “use full content provided by its publishing partners.” This benefit is accessible through digital subscription service and not otherwise.
Speaking about their initiative and update, Trip Adler, the co-founder and CEO of Scribd, said to the PR Newswire, “Our library is home to hundreds of millions of amazing, human-authored pieces of content, making it one of the most valuable and sought-after data resources.” He also talked about the library quality and data usage in the Terms of Service. “Our library’s quality sets us apart, and to safeguard its content, we have outlined use cases in our Terms of Service that control how and when other companies can use our data,” he added.
As for its priorities, the company keeps the publisher’s interest (participating in subscription service), the creators’ base, and the Scribd community at the top. This, along with their prior initiatives like the BookID, a free program that gives control to the content providers “to block content from being posted to the Scribd website and mobile application.” count in as their main preferences.
For more information on Scribd’s Terms of Service updates/changes, feel free to contact datainquiries@scribd.com.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.