Rampant ‘Shadow Libraries’ Drive Calls for Anti-Piracy Action

“Name something that should be illegal but isn’t.” When this TikTok trend made its rounds last year, many users mentioned Z-Library, a popular “shadow library” with millions of books available for permanent download at minimal or no cost.

If this seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.

Shadow libraries such as Z-Library and the Library Genesis Project—also referred to as “pirate libraries"—often directly infringe copyrights held by authors and publishers, cutting into profits for the billion-dollar industry. Pirated e-books have depressed legitimate book sales by as much as 14%, according to one study cited in Authors Guild’s ...