Did Elon Musk Attempt — and Fail — to Take Over the Library of Congress for AI Development?
Whispers are circulating in Washington, D.C., regarding whether Elon Musk tried to gain control of the Library of Congress to obtain extensive collections of copyrighted materials for training artificial intelligence models for his enterprise. Several members of Congress — including strong supporters of former President Donald Trump — are expressing concerns.
Over the weekend, Trump unexpectedly dismissed Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights and head of the U.S. Copyright Office. The timing raised suspicions, as the office had just issued a report determining that utilizing copyrighted content for training AI models likely doesn’t conform with fair use — a considerable hindrance for AI developers.
This action has fueled speculation that Musk, a prominent Trump benefactor and outspoken supporter of the ex-president, might have influenced the decision. Musk has reportedly donated hundreds of millions to Trump and other Republican campaigns since the 2024 election, leading to fears that he is leveraging his power to circumvent copyright regulations.
Concerns heightened when Trump also ousted Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, shortly after Perlmutter’s removal. Legal authorities and copyright defenders worry that these dismissals are part of a larger initiative to grant Big Tech — with Musk as a focal point — direct access to the nation’s most prized intellectual assets.
“Donald Trump’s dismissal of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a flagrant, unprecedented power grab lacking any legal justification,” declared Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) in a public statement. “It is surely no accident he acted less than a day after she declined to endorse Elon Musk’s attempts to exploit troves of copyrighted works for AI training.”
As reported by The Verge, some within Trump’s own MAGA-aligned factions suspect that Musk and David Sacks — Trump’s advisor on AI and cryptocurrency — coordinated the firings to facilitate a copyright encroachment for Big Tech.
“We’re not going to allow every copyrighted work in America — the hard-earned creations of every creator — to be taken by tech moguls so they can profit billions from others’ endeavors,” voiced Mike Davis, founder of the Internet Accountability Project and a Trump antitrust advisor, during a recent session on Steve Bannon’s podcast.
When officials from the Trump administration visited the Copyright Office this week with a presidential letter in tow, there were concerns they were part of Musk’s supposed “DOGE” task force. However, The Verge reports that the individuals were in fact anti-Big Tech agents from within Trump’s own faction.
The White House has since appointed a new leadership team: Paul Perkins as acting Register of Copyrights, Brian Nieves as acting Deputy Librarian, and Todd Blanche — a noted critic of Big Tech — as Acting Librarian of Congress. It remains uncertain whether Trump possesses the legal authority to execute these appointments without Senate endorsement, particularly concerning the Librarian of Congress.
According to sources cited by The Verge, Blanche’s placement was made explicitly to “stick it to tech,” indicating that the Trump administration may be more inclined to restrict Big Tech’s influence than to promote it — despite Musk’s apparent intentions.
While Musk’s purported endeavor to access the Library of Congress for AI training data may have faltered for the moment, the political struggle over who possesses the nation’s intellectual property — and its usage — is far from resolved.