Trump administration backs OpenAI in Times copyright fight

The Trump administration has backed OpenAI in The New York Times’ copyright case, with the Justice Department asking a court to view the company’s use of online articles to train ChatGPT as fair use. That is a copyright exception that can permit unlicensed copying when the new use serves a sufficiently different purpose; the Times argues OpenAI used its journalism without permission and that ChatGPT can sometimes reproduce or compete with its work. The filing is not a ruling, but it gives OpenAI an influential federal ally in a case that could shape whether AI developers need licenses for the text used to build their models. Separate legal actions underscored the company’s wider exposure: Apple accused OpenAI of destroying evidence in a trade-secrets dispute, which OpenAI denies, and 30 new lawsuits alleged ChatGPT helped enable a Canadian school shooting, claims the company contests.