Trump administration backs OpenAI in New York Times’ copyright case over training of chatbots

PUBLISHED Sep 3, 2026, 1:42 PM ET

The Trump administration has entered the copyright battle between OpenAI and The New York Times, urging a judge to accept OpenAI’s argument that training large language models on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use. The Justice Department filed a Statement of Interest on September 1 in the Southern District of New York, arguing that AI training is transformative and that its creative, economic and national-security benefits outweigh competitive harm. The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023, alleging unauthorized use of millions of articles and arguing that AI products can substitute for journalism without compensating publishers. The newspaper criticized the government’s position, saying creators should be paid for content used to build AI systems. The DOJ filing is not a court ruling and does not resolve questions involving infringing outputs or obtaining training material. The case could influence copyright disputes involving AI developers, publishers, authors and other creators. �

By Sarah Whitman | JQJO News

Media Bias

Articles Published:: 32
Right Leaning:: 2
Left Leaning:: 6
Neutral:: 24

Explain Framing

Left: Coverage emphasizes creator compensation, media sustainability, and government favoritism toward technology. Center: Coverage emphasizes DOJ intervention, fair-use arguments, litigation status, and competing claims. Right: Coverage emphasizes American AI competitiveness, national security, and limiting copyright-driven barriers.