Trump Just Fired the Woman Protecting Your Work

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Hey there! It’s Aaron.

Someone tried to put guardrails on AI.

Then they got fired.

It’s not a movie plot—it’s what actually happened when the U.S. Copyright chief said AI shouldn’t be trained on your content without permission.

Days later, she was out.

If you’re a creator, this one’s not just political—it’s personal.

Here’s what went down this week:

CATCH OF THE DAY

When Copyright Law Met AI—and Got Fired

Just days after releasing a report warning that AI companies shouldn’t be allowed to train on copyrighted content and then compete in the same market as the humans they trained on… Shira Perlmutter, the head of the US Copyright Office, was fired.

By email.

Welcome to 2025.

Perlmutter, a Biden-era appointee, didn’t just poke the bear—she challenged a trillion-dollar tech industry already walking the tightrope between innovation and infringement.

Her report boldly argued that commercial AI models built on scraped copyrighted data without consent go beyond fair use, especially if those models then flood the same marketplace with competing content.

And then—boom. She’s out.

Reportedly, this decision came directly from President Trump, just two days after Carla Hayden (the Librarian of Congress who appointed Perlmutter) was also shown the door.

The dominoes fell fast, and if it all feels vaguely like a dystopian episode of Black Mirror with a patriotic soundtrack, you’re not alone.

The Bigger Story You Shouldn’t Miss

This isn’t just political drama.

It’s a flashing neon sign for creators, educators, and anyone who earns a living off original content:

The fired report explicitly warned about companies (hi, Elon) pushing the boundaries of fair use by mining massive troves of copyrighted material without permission.

And just last month, Elon Musk publicly called for the abolishment of intellectual property laws.

Now let’s pause there.

Imagine you’re a freelance course creator, a podcaster, or an indie game designer.

You spend months creating an original product—and one day, an AI trained on your work replicates it at scale… for free… and then gets featured on Product Hunt.

Wouldn’t you be just a little mad?

Well, the US Copyright Office was trying to draw the line. And the person holding the pen just got erased.

My Take

If you're in my niche—creators, instructional designers, AI-curious educators—this story hits close to home.

Not just because your work could be used to train the next AI model, but because we’re living through a moment where policy decisions are quietly shaping your future tools, income, and rights.

Most of us don’t have a lawyer on speed dial.

We rely on platforms to “do the right thing.”

But when those same platforms shift their terms overnight (hi, SoundCloud), or when officials trying to set ethical guardrails get booted… that’s not just a warning sign.

That’s a fire alarm.

Here’s the real kicker: AI isn’t slowing down.

And neither are the companies building it.

But the people trying to build in protections for the humans in the loop?

They’re getting sidelined.

This doesn’t mean you should stop using AI tools.

It means we have to be more intentional about how we use them, where our data goes, and what policies we support.

Because whether you're remixing videos, writing client decks, or building online courses, your original work matters.

And it deserves protection.

The Final Byte

Your content isn’t just training data. It’s your livelihood.

If we want AI to work with creators—not steamroll them—we need to stay loud, informed, and fiercely protective of our rights.

See you in the next one,

BEFORE YOU GO

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