What looked like a win for big tech has gone south. Elon Musk had tried to influence the U.S. Copyright Office with a plan that ended in the firing of the Copyright Office Chief.
However, what looked like a clean takeover has created a rift right inside the Republican Party.
Two new leaders now control the Copyright Office do not support Musk or Big Tech. Instead, they represent a different group that wants tighter control over technology.
Musk’s Allies Pushed for a Leadership Change
Last week, Donald Trump removed two top officials: Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights.
Many saw the firings as a win for the tech-friendly wing of the Republican Party. The timing couldn’t have been a coincidence because just days before, the Copyright Office released a draft report.
This report suggested that some AI training might not fall under fair use. Therefore, AI companies, including Musk’s, viewed this as a threat.
These companies rely on massive amounts of copyrighted content to train their AI models, and a ruling against fair use could bring costly consequences.
So, when Paul Perkins and Brian Nieves entered the Copyright Office claiming authority, things looked good for big tech.
New Leaders, New Priorities
However, Perkins and Nieves were not part of Musk’s group. They came from another side of the Republican Party, the MAGA wing, which sees Big Tech as a threat.
For a long time, this group has criticized platforms for censorship and bias.
Now that they have power over copyright policy, they are unlikely to support Silicon Valley. Instead, they clamour for stronger protection for creators, stricter limits on AI training, and less power for tech companies.
