Four years ago, many of the most influential technology in California decided that President Trump at the time was a threat to democracy that prevented him from publishing their social media platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, wrote in a violent attempt to maintain her authority on January 7, 2021 – one day after Trump’s American Capitol supporters stormed a violent attempt to maintain power, “We believe that the risk of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period.
Today, some of the same technology leaders, including Zuckerberg, take a remarkable different tone because Trump is preparing to restore the White House. They meet with him personally, as they promote the commercial opportunities they see under his next administration, and announced the policies that seem to be intended to clarify and generate his return competition with huge donations to his opening box.
On Tuesday, four years until today, from his announcement of Trump’s comment on Facebook, Zuckerberg posted a video that argues that the “complex systems” that his company built had been built to reduce the dangerous and unlawful content to “a lot of censorship” – a favorite argument in Trump – and will hold firmly.
Zuckerberg said that describing the last elections as a “cultural turning point”, will “get rid of auditors”, and instead depends on users to challenge misleading posts. He added that the company will significantly reduce its content restrictions on some of Trump’s favorite political issues, such as migration and sex, and increase the amount of political content that its algorithms direct to users.
It will also move the remaining and moderate safety teams from California and to Texas, which Zuckerberg suggested that you provide a less “biased” environment, and work directly with Trump “to respond to governments all over the world that follow American companies and press censorship more.”
Industry experts say the changes are part of a broader shift in public political positions by heavy hikers in the Big Tech – which has long began before Trump’s victory in November, but has escalated dramatically since then, which is greater than the roaming rak’ah of pragmatic business leaders with change in government every four years.
Some have defended the transformation. in Interview with Associated Press Last month, the CEO of Salesforce Marc Benioff has been in the Trump administration, which shows more attention than the Biden administration in industry concerns and experiences.
“I think many people realize that there are many amazing people such as Elon Musk in the technology industry and in the business community,” said Benioff. “If you click on the strength and experience of the best in America to achieve the best in America, this is a great vision.”
Others say this transformation reflects a financial account, in line with the liberation line that has long been deepening in technical circles, that Trump’s tendency to cancel restrictions and contempt for moderate content – which he claimed was biased against conservatives – would be good for the bottom line.
Experts said that technology executives see an opportunity to wipe their hands from expensive responsibility to clean their platforms, and a useful excuse to do this under the guise of freedom of expression – Trump was often ideal for mockery of the moderate platform.
“It is an awareness that Trump’s strength is enormous, as we have seen through the elections, that he is definitely here to remain for these four years, [and] “When it comes to the dead and these major companies, their interest in maintaining whether it does not increase the evaluation and/or its profit,” said Rameshe Serenvasan, director of the California University Center for World Digital Cultures. “
He and other experts said that he is also concerned – especially in light of Trump’s promises to the promises of the Ministry of Justice as a political weapon against his enemies and technology leaders’ willingness to confront this threat of money and other sympathy to the White House.
Sarah said. Roberts, co -founder and faculty director at the University of California Center in Los Angeles in the online monetary investigation, that the technical donations of the Trump opening fund were a “vulgar demonstration” in order to succeed in the market in the next four years, which will require this to reconcile with the president.
There is a major problem that the decisions taken by Meta, X and other surrender to Trump by getting rid of the accumulated years of knowledge and experiences in the field of moderate content are not in the interest of the users of the platform all over the world who are harmful when these guarantees are not in place.
She said that technology leaders also know this, but they don’t seem to care.
“They know from their internal research that there is harm without measures and efforts to intervene, and they make very calculated decisions to ignore their own evidence, and to dismantle these teams, [and] “The sale of their work and workers,” said Roberts.
Rob Lala, business professor at the University of Toleen, also said a long -term strategy among adult technology leaders to reshape American capitalism in their favor by obtaining influence in Washington.
“They are participating in politics in ways that go beyond money,” he said. “They are interested in power.”
Money and power
Experts said Zuckerberg, Elon Musk of X, Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos from Amazon, Sundar Pichai from Google and other leaders of encrypted currencies and artificial intelligence industries who supported Trump’s platforms and services play a major role in forming civilian speeches and political discussion.
An important examination of their overwhelming powers is government regulations, which have It has increased in recent years While the two countries deal with the threats that such platforms pose to consumers and democracy, including through the spread of wrong information and hate speech.
Individual countries and the European Union increasingly issued mandates for moderate content and child protection, and issued consecutive orders for content that are illegal or dangerous, and combating monopoly and other litigation to dismantle or sponsor companies for anti -air commercial practices.
Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and X – previously have faced Twitter – litigation or anti -monopoly review in recent years, some of which have arisen under Trump’s first management. None of them responded to suspension requests, although it denied that any violations of the court were committed.
They also pledged or executive chiefs of donations to the Trump opening fund, which pays money, marches and dinner.
Meta and Apple’s Cook said they would contribute a million dollars in the Trump box. Google said it gives one million dollars and that the opening will be broadcast on YouTube. The Amazon, led by the millionaire Jeff Bezos, adhered to give a million dollars in addition to a protected contribution of $ 1 million by the opening flow on the Amazon video.
Musk, the richest man in the world, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars – more than any one donor in the 2024 electoral cycle – to help re -elect Trump and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate, including through two committees of separate political action.
Musk has been in Trump’s inner circle since then, and Trump has appointed to lead the new government competence management.
Bill Bayer, the former head of the Anti -Monopathic Department of the Ministry of Justice in the Obama administration, said that technology leaders are “known” – which he added, “Not a crazy thing for them” given Trump’s focus on loyalty.
“They want to make sure that if there is a list of enemies assembled, it is not on it,” Bayer said.
Bayer said it is also unclear how the Trump administration will deal with technology platforms or investigations into its operations. He said that Trump and Vice President -elect JD Vance “expressed some concern about technology platforms”, and it seems that there is “a mixed view between Republicans in Congress.”
However, Bayer’s interest is that the White House Trump will achieve and promise to “control law enforcement in a way that allows her to protect her friends and follow up on her enemies, and this includes people who are currently being prosecuted on the ground of anti -monopoly as well as monopoly, as well as the people who are investigated in these behaviors.”
If Trump does it, technology leaders are ready to push in his opening box and satisfy him in other ways, will raise legal questions, especially if anti -monopoly issues against them suddenly explode, or they start easily.
Bayer said: “Something that the audience should feel.” “Our entire economy is based on the idea that competition leads to innovation, in competition in prices, in improving quality.”
“Everyone wants to be my friend.”
At a press conference in December, Trump noticed at a “less hostile” reception from technology leaders.
Trump said: “The first chapter, everyone was fighting me. In this term, everyone wanted to be my friend,” Trump said.
When asked about the Meta Declaration on Tuesday – which followed the name Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting and Trump Trump Fanyalist, to Meta – Trump simply said that Zuckerberg “has made a long way.”
The note was a reference to the Trump argument and the other Republicans that the major technology is mired in liberal bias and that its algorithms and the moderate content are designed to help Democrats and harm the Republicans.
Experts say there is a lot of evidence to show that bias is a legend – not the least of which is all the last measures of the strongest technology leaders.
But regardless of the personal policy of these leaders, they all “the same conclusion” that they must hit, said Roberts.
“If this is the price of doing business, then I think they are ready to do this – while selling many other people and putting them at risk.”
Lala, from Tolcan and author of the book “The Venture Alchemists: How much technology has turned into power,” the fact that Trump is surrounded by technology leaders reflects the extent of Silicon Valley to a large extent to $ 5.25 million from the first Trump campaign.
Lala said that the Americans are underestimating it, and they must be better aware, and the degree caused by the Silicon Valley in a government that infiltrates a government – among other things, has deep links with Thil – and the amount of what they stand to change the American rule permanently to better present the interests of the free market.
He said that the “Ministry of Governmental efficiency” in Musk and the alignment plans under the 2025 project to shoot professional civil service staff in favor of Trump loyalists are perfect examples.
Lala said: “What they argue here is the Silicon Valley much more than an idea – that anything is a legacy, which is traditional, needs to be rejected in favor of the new, innovative, and technological novel.” “Do we have an appetite for risk risks based on these people who come? As a public audience, I am not sure of that.”