1. United States
2. Miss.
3. Letter

I am writing to you as a Mississippi author and as someone currently involved in lawsuits against Anthropic and OpenAI. I am deeply concerned about the proposed SANDBOX Act and what it means for the future of writers, artists, and all who depend on copyright to make a living. Mississippi’s greatest resource has always been its people. From William Faulkner to Eudora Welty to John Grisham, generations of Mississippians have contributed to the world’s literature and carried forward a proud creative tradition. This act threatens to strip that heritage of its value by allowing large artificial intelligence companies to use our copyrighted works without payment or permission. In Mississippi, every trade and industry must pay its fair share. Our shipbuilders must pay for the aluminum, steel, and labor that go into their ships. Our timber companies must pay for the land and trees they harvest. Our fishermen must pay for licenses to work in our waters. The same principle must apply to the Silicon Valley California tech companies that rely on the words, stories, and creations of Mississippi authors. If these companies use our work to train their models, they should be required to pay for that use. The SANDBOX Act would allow artificial intelligence developers to request exemptions or waivers from existing federal laws, including those that protect creative rights. These exemptions could last for years and might even be renewed indefinitely. The proposal also gives the Office of Science and Technology Policy power to overrule agency experts and approve waivers by default if no response is issued within ninety days. This creates a system that favors corporate interests over the rights of individual creators. This policy framework may be presented as a way to encourage innovation, but in reality it opens the door to exploitation. It allows large companies to bypass copyright obligations and claim the benefits of free access to creative labor without paying for it. That is not free enterprise. That is not how our economy or our state’s industries operate. Fair markets depend on fair exchange, and that must include respect for intellectual property. I urge you to oppose the SANDBOX Act and defend the rights of authors, artists, and all creators whose work is the foundation of our shared culture. Mississippi’s writers have earned a place in the history of America through talent, discipline, and integrity. We cannot allow California tech billionaires who think they can solve their business challenges by simply purchasing federal policy to steal from Mississippians’ hard work.