Hi Trish, how will tech be different under the new administration, if at all?
Hi there, and welcome back to another week of Ask Trish! For my American friends, I hope you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. I, for one, cannot wait to spend time with family and friends, and of course, properly stuff my face at Thanksgiving dinner (my favorite dish has always been apple pie a la mode!)…and then promptly fall asleep. #asitshouldbe However you celebrate, I hope you enjoy a restful holiday.
But before that…we have one last Ask Trish post for November 2024, tackling a topic that is certainly very pertinent: what tech and the internet, including related regulatory issues, are likely to look like under President-elect Trump. Thank you to this week’s question-er for raising the fantastic question! Indeed, with a new administration almost always comes a new approach to different issues, whether technology, climate change, health, or taxes. And President-elect Trump’s forthcoming administration is no exception: there’s likely to be a lot of change. But President-elect Trump presents an interesting case study, because he’s already been the President once before…so we actually have a better (albeit, still imperfect) sense of how he might approach/think about a range of tech issues. Of course, Presidents change their minds/shift course — particularly President-elect Trump — but it’s helpful to dig in, and consider: given what we know, what is tech likely to look like under Trump?
In this week’s post, I give y’all a (very) brief overview of how President Trump is likely to approach 3 key tech issues. I emphasize how brief this overview is because I want you to use this post as a launching pad for additional research — there’s so much more out there to dig into. Let me know what you find/share your thoughts in the comments section of this week’s TikTok video!
Let’s get into it:
AI: First up is AI. President-elect Trump is likely to prioritize AI innovation over regulation. Indeed, the last Trump administration largely rolled back/cut regulations thought to limit AI development, and Trump has already publicly stated that he would repeal a Biden administration Executive Order that aimed to create guardrails around the technology, with an eye to ethics and safety. What’s motivating Trump? Well, a number of things, but it’s likely that he’s primarily motivated by a desire to ensure that the US remains as technologically savvy/advanced as its main geopolitical rival, China, which is also an AI leader. Tech companies have taken note of Trump’s stances, and are already attempting to align with him; OpenAI, for instance, recently released a “Infrastructure Blueprint for the U.S.” which outlines the company’s vision for how AI can recharge the American economy, a vision that strongly mirrors Trump’s perspective.
Antitrust: Okay, that’s AI…but as I like to remind y’all here at Ask Trish, tech is not just AI. Also likely to be top of mind for the new Trump administration is tech-related anti-trust issues. Under President Biden, the Department of Justice and FTC have aggressively gone after what they say are anti-competitive practices by some of the US’s largest technology companies, with the DOJ suing the likes of Google, and the FTC headed by the celebrated Big Tech skeptic Lina Khan. It’s actually quite unclear to what extent Trump will change this current direction. On the one hand, some of his closest advisors, like tech magnate Elon Musk, have heavily criticized this agenda — but on the other hand, Trump himself has said that he thinks more should be done to make Google fair, and the Vice President-elect, JD Vance, has said that he feels Khan is “doing a pretty good job.” What’s likely is that the Trump administration will continue to push hard (though possibly not as hard as the Biden administration has), with a focus on different issues, like the perceived censorship of conservative voices online.
Social Media and Child Safety: Last, but certainly not least — this is the issue that matters the most to me — is social media and child safety. What is Trump’s administration likely to do here? Once again, it’s not 100% clear. For instance, Trump has, in the past, claimed that he would repeal Section 230, an internet law that frees social media companies and other internet platforms liability for what their users say — even if what their users say is awful. (He later pulled back from those comments.) And Trump’s recent pick for FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, is a big Big Tech opponent who has said that Section 230 ought to be repealed. But on the other hand…some of Trump’s closest advocates and supporters seem less intent on social media regulation, even regulation to protect children. Speaker Mike Johnson, for instance, has thus far prevented the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) from being brought to the House floor. So once again…we really don’t what way things will cut.
I hope you found this post informative. For those of you wanting to learn more, I’d strongly encourage you to use this post to guide additional research. And while you’re doing that research, if anything internet/tech-related makes you think, “Huh. I wonder why that is…,” please share your thoughts and musings with me here. Remember, nothing is off limits! Whatever you’re wondering about, I’m here for it. I can’t wait to hear from y’all – thank you so much in advance for contributing your perspective.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Trish