Trying to pretend LAION has any culpability is how you know this is bunk. It's a list of links to publically available content. The metadata is the alt-text of

Trying to pretend LAION has any culpability is how you know this is bunk. It's a list of links to publically available content. The metadata is the alt-text of the linked images. No one has the ability to demand they not be linked to, because otherwise the simple solution is "stop hosting" or "add authentication" and the ramifications of any other conclusion break the internet (EU right-to-forget would apply, but that compels action after a request, it doesn't imply linking is illegal).