With his election victory, Silicon Valley bosses had hoped for a return to the Obama-era relationship – but did a tweet from Joe Biden’s head of press signal otherwise?
In 2008, in his election night speech, Barack Obama signalled that with his election, “change has come to America.” Part of that change was an embrace of technology – and in particular – the beginnings of a new relationship with the t-shirt loving executives of Silicon Valley.
He was, after all, the first digital president. His campaign – led by young people – had utilised technology and social media in a way that no politician had done before; this led to him receiving a record number of votes in the election.
But even before he was elected, the signs were already there. He was a young Blackberry-toting senator who didn’t just understand Silicon Valley’s lingo, he believed in it too.
From town hall audiences with Mark Zuckerberg to weekly meetings with Google executives at the White House, he was – by most accounts – Silicon Valley’s best friend.
His successor, Donald Trump, wasn’t such a big fan.
“I’m here to help you folks do well”
That’s what President-elect Trump said to a group of tech executives in 2016. As you can tell, that sentiment was short-lived.
Instead, their relationship was to be tumultuous. In the president’s view, big tech companies have become too powerful, wading into political issues which should be left to policitians.
Every time his tweets were censored or flagged by social media giants, he would threaten to introduce (on Twitter), by means of executive orders, measures that curbed their power.
He’s not, however, alone in his resentment. Other high-profile Republicans have also signalled their dislike for the actions of tech giants. In particular, Facebook and Twitter. The power these companies have, and the influence they yield, have become hotly contested issues in Washington.
Like Republicans, some Democrats have also got their eyes squarely on Silicon Valley’s big five.
In recent months, the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter have been summoned before the House Judiciary Committee to answer for what it sees as an abuse of power.
“Although these firms have delivered clear benefits to society, the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google has come at a price”
That was the conclusion the House Judiciary Committee’s report reached about the power of the big tech companies. The 449-page document listed, in no uncertain terms, all the things they thought was wrong with the big five.
Their power, the report said, allows them to “run the marketplace while also competing in it – a position that enables them to write one set of rules for others, while they play by another.”
And crucially, the report laid down a series of recommendations, including tougher anti-trust laws.
The market reaction? Panic (for a short while) that the well-performing stock prices of these companies – and their value – would be damaged by legislation aimed at breaking them up.
But with the current president due to leave (even if he doesn’t know it yet), and a new administration coming in, all eyes will be on Joe Biden.
So,what has he said? To date, not much.
“Do we think this is going to be Barack Obama 2.0? No, not at all”
So far, on big tech companies, Joe Biden hasn’t given much away. The only indication of the way his administration might feel comes from his head of press, Bill Russo – he commented “Hell yes” under a picture of Trump and Zuckerberg with the caption “One down, one to go.”
That, many believe, is a clear signal that Biden (unlike Obama) doesn’t plan on becoming Silicon Valley’s supporter-in-chief. However, amid the speculation, it’s worth remembering that Bill Russo isn’t the next President of the United States, Joe Biden is.
Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding his policies, tech executives seem to be sure that there’ll be a lot less drama with Biden.
In the past, he’s made comments which suggest that breaking up big tech companies, by way of legislation, is “something we should look at”. But before rushing off to sell your Facebook shares, it’s worth knowing that the president-elect hasn’t made any solid commitments (yet).
On China, Biden isn’t likely to follow Trump’s lead – allowing for a much-needed sigh of relief amongst tech executives. That means reconsidering the position on Huawei, a company Trump sanctioned for what he saw as breaches of privacy.
The Biden administration is likely to remain tough on China’s growing influence. But unlike Trump – to the relief of economists –he’s unlikely to start trade wars with the world’s second-largest economy.
With Biden, Silicon Valley may not have to constantly look over its shoulders – but they’ll be in no doubt that Joe Biden isn’t Barack Obama.