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Firing of Top Copyright Official Raises Alarm Amid AI Debate

Firing of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter sparks concerns that the White House will side with tech companies in debate about AI and copyright.

Although the White House has not given any reason for the move, it comes as the media business once again finds itself in conflict with Silicon Valley – this time as technology companies have far more influence in Washington. Currently, the office is preparing a multi-part report, “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence,” the third part of which, about whether scanning works to train AI algorithms would qualify as infringement, was expected to come out this spring. Copyright has generally been one of the few non-partisan issues in Washington, since it usually unites Democrats who support the arts with Republicans who favor strong protections for property rights.

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