Trump fires Copyright Office head amid AI fair-use backlash

Sunday, May 11, 2025, 1:20 pm

The Trump administration has abruptly terminated the U.S. Copyright Office’s chief just days after a contentious pre-publication opinion on AI training data and fair use was released. Critics note that the timing—coinciding with heated debates over the proper use of copyrighted materials in AI models—raises eyebrows about political interference.

engadget.com / Trump has fired the director of the US Copyright Office

As first reported by Politico, the Trump administration has fired the Register of Copyrights and US Copyright Office Director, Shira Perlmutter. The Register of Copyrights works under the Librarian of Congress — a title held most recently by Carla Hayden, who was fired earlier this week for her DEI…

techcrunch.com / Trump fires Copyright Office director after report raises questions about AI training

President Donald Trump has fired Shira Perlmutter, who leads the U.S. Copyright Office. The firing was reported by CBS News and Politico, and seemingly confirmed by a statement from Representative Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the Committee for House Administration. “Donald Trump’s termination…

engadget.com / SoundCloud says it's never trained AI using artists' work after getting called out for terms of use change

Following backlash about a quietly added clause to SoundCloud's Terms of Use that says users' content may be fed to AI, the company says it's "never used artist content to train AI models," and insists it "has always been and will remain artist-first." The outrage came after tech ethicist Ed…

gizmodo.com / Trump Reportedly Fires Head of US Copyright Office

Shira Perlmutter recently expressed concern over the use of copyrighted material by AI firms.

theverge.com / Trump fires head of Copyright Office two days following report that AI training may not be fair use

The Trump administration has reportedly fired Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, who leads the US Copyright Office, following the office’s choice to release a pre-publication version of its opinion on the fair use status of AI training data that’s made up of copyrighted information. …

permalink / 5 stories from sources in 27 hours ago #aiethics #trump #law

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