Following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, Big Tech companies became central hubs of the so-called “resistance” against him, ramping up censorship and deplatforming campaigns that ultimately led to The former president was banned from Facebook and Twitter. Riots on January 6, 2021.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google founder Sergey Brin are famous guided Thousands of employees protest President Trump’s immigration policies. During the 2020 campaign, Big Tech platforms even censored discussions about Hunter Biden’s laptop in order to curry favor with Hunter Biden’s father and Trump’s opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.

But since Mr. Trump was re-elected in November, executives at big tech companies appear to be bending the knee rather than trying to kneel to their former enemies.

For example, Pichai and Brin traveled I went to Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with Trump. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos followed suit and got on FaceTime with President Trump, The New York Times reported. reported. Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met With the former president and president-elect of Mar-a-Lago.

Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman each announced donations to Trump’s inaugural fund within days of each other, furthering the tech industry’s shift away from its anti-Trump banner.

“I think this is a clear, if not explicit, apology for interfering with something they shouldn’t have interfered with when it comes to our democratic elections,” the Washington, D.C.-based Joel Thayer, a leading tech and communications attorney, told the Daily Caller News. The foundation cited the widespread censorship of social media and search engines during the 2020 election.

“And on the other hand, they recognize that the population has moved,” Thayer said. “The way we think about policies like Trump’s is actually pretty good for American workers and ordinary individuals. And we saw that through the popular vote.”

Elon Musk’s endorsement of Trump proved to be a game-changer, before a recent explosion of support from the likes of Zuckerberg and Pichai. According to While former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel was one of Trump’s early supporters in 2016, Musk said other tech executives supported the former president during the campaign. This made them feel “more secure” in participating.

Tech investors David Sachs and Marc Andreessen were among a relatively small number of tech luminaries who supported Trump in the general election. recent Andreessen said Bari Weiss of the Free Press says the new support for Trump from tech industry moguls could be attributed to the Biden administration’s “anti-capitalist” policies, which have shown “a simmering disdain” for the tech industry. He said that there is a sex.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had an administration that’s been this radical on economic policy and technology policy. I’ve never seen that before,” Andreessen said, adding that President Joe Biden’s office has “an extreme level of opposition.” There was an anti-business, anti-political stance,” he added. Technology Animus. ”

of Biden-Harris Plan For example, Weiss argued on his podcast “Honest” that increasing taxes on unrealized profits could kill small businesses and discourage the entry of new technology startups, which have historically led the industry.

This move would have a particularly negative impact on the rapidly growing AI industry, which relies heavily on private innovation. The Biden administration wants to keep the field under close scrutiny and has imposed sweeping restrictions on AI. presidential order Meanwhile, President Trump has vowed to allow the industry “free development.”

Andreessen told Weiss he was “very scared” of the AI ​​industry after meeting with the Biden administration.

“They said, ‘Look, AI is basically a technology that is completely controlled by the government,'” Andreessen said. “In fact, they flatly told us, “Don’t do things like AI startups, don’t fund AI startups, we’re not going to tolerate that, we’re not going to allow them to exist. do not have.” “

Andreessen was told that the government is considering classifying all AI science and allowing only the federal government to develop it.

Congratulations to President Trump.

I wish him great success in his work.

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 6, 2024

Biden has similarly moved to impose strict limits on cryptocurrencies and advocated for a federally controlled digital dollar. Shortly after Trump was elected, he nominated pro-cryptocurrency Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, virtual currency stocks suddenly skyrocketed.

The Biden administration has primarily targeted Big Tech, slamming Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple with antitrust lawsuits in its single term, aiming to crack down on market power.

Amazon has made no attempt to hide its left-leaning tendencies, but remove the book From a site that criticized the transgender movement COVID-19 vaccine. In September, Amazon’s Alexa had to deal with an apparent “error.” show your support He supported Vice President and former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, not President Trump.

Despite this, Bezos and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy both announced their support for Trump after the election.

“Congratulations to President-elect @realDonaldTrump on a hard-fought victory,” Jassy wrote in the X post. “I look forward to working with you and your administration on issues that matter to your customers, employees, communities, and country.”

I sincerely congratulate the 45th and now 47th President on his extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No country has greater opportunity. With a wish @realDonaldTrump To succeed in guiding and uniting the America we all love.

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 6, 2024

“Every company will want to sit down with their leaders and see how things are going, and maybe even influence some of these policies,” Thayer said. spoke. “I think this is a recognition that Overton’s frame has shifted a little bit and shifted in a way that seems to align with Mr. Trump’s priorities.”

At least some tech companies may be concerned about President Trump’s trade policies, Thayer explained. President Trump’s proposed tariffs, especially on Chinese products, could have a devastating impact on the technology industry. (Related: President Trump sends clear message to big tech companies with Justice Department nomination)

“Apple will probably make a very strong case that it should be exempt from all these tariffs,” Thayer told DCNF. “So I imagine they’re almost certainly going to beg and beg to be taken out of some of these interactions.”

As recently as 2023, Forbes reported More than 95% of Apple products are manufactured in China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said he urged President Trump during his predecessor’s administration to take a more flexible stance on immigration so the company could hire more foreign tech workers. It has been reported. Cook met with the president-elect earlier this month. According to In the New York Times.

“Apple and Google in particular are certainly trying to respond to President Trump a little more aggressively than other tech companies, mainly because they’re in a better position,” Thayer said.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew quickly followed suit, meeting with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, CNN reported, amid a looming ban on the Chinese-owned app. reported.

During Trump’s first term, the then-president deemed the video-sharing platform a national security threat and threatened to ban the app unless TikTok’s parent company ByteDance relinquished ownership and sold it to a U.S. company. I promised. Biden has since Subsequently This promise has been kept and the app ban is scheduled to come into effect in 2025.

Despite his position during his first term, President Trump appears to have softened his stance on TikTok, suggesting he may consider ways to lift the ban. The shift is likely due to narrowing public support for the ban, especially among younger voters, to whom President Trump is increasingly appealing. Trump too was popular Commenting on his popularity on stage in the run-up to the election, he jokingly said in a speech Sunday: [TikTok] Around there for a little while. ”

For the historically Democratic Silicon Valley, the tide appears to be turning, at least in part due to the Biden administration’s policies. The technology industry, which has grown largely in recent decades through private innovation and small startups, could struggle under tight government control, and Mr. Trump is a potential solution to that challenge. may be considered.

“They’ve been very friendly with the Democratic Party for a very long time, but I think they’re now starting to realize that there’s a large majority of people who obviously don’t agree with Democratic priorities at all. will have to come back and talk to other people in power.” Thayer said.

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