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| The Library of Congress | |
The White House fired Shira Perlmutter, the register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, by e-mail on Saturday. The Washington Post reported that acting librarian of Congress Robert Newlen sent an e-mail to his staff about the termination just two days after Donald Trump fired the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter in October 2020.
Perlmutter's office had recently released a report on artificial intelligence "that raised concerns about using copyrighted materials to train AI systems, which some employees suspected may have influenced Perlmutter's termination," the Post noted.
"Several stages in the development of generative AI involve using copyrighted works in ways that implicate the owners' exclusive rights," the report said. "The key question, as most commenters agreed, is whether those acts of prima facie infringement can be excused as fair use."
In a statement, Rep. Joseph Morelle (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, said it was "no coincidence" the register of copyrights position was terminated shortly after the office released its AI report, calling the White House's decision "a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis."
On Monday, Trump appointed Todd Blanche, deputy Attorney General of the U.S., to be the acting Librarian of Congress, according to a Justice Department spokesperson. NPR noted that the permanent post of Librarian of Congress must be confirmed by the Senate, adding: "Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives, according to his public profile. Now he will be running the largest one in the world. As a lawyer, he has focused on investigations and criminal litigation, including work for the President. Blanche served as one of Trump's personal lawyers, leading the defense in last year's criminal trial in which the President was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult film star."
A Library of Congress employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, told NPR that two men showed up at the Library building on Monday with a letter saying that in addition to Blanche's appointment, Brian Nieves had been named acting assistant librarian and Paul Perkins acting register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office.
"The men were not allowed into offices and left soon after, the employee said, adding that the Library of Congress is a legislative branch agency, and has not yet received direction from Congress on how to move forward," NPR wrote.
There is also concern that the administration and Elon Musk's DOGE will have access to a variety of confidential information at the Library of Congress, such as research questions from members.