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For tech companies openly supporting the democratic candidate, Hilary Clinton, their worst fears have come true. Donad Trump has been elected President of the United States despite a strong opposition from tech junta, economists and politicians alike.
Take for instance, Elon Musk, who said rather strongly on how Trump is probably not the right guy for the presidency, and wouldn't be the best candidate to represent the USA or the 143 tech leaders who signed an open letter that discouraged voters to elect him as President. An excerpt from it read, "Trump would be a disaster for innovation. His vision stands against the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world that is critical to our economy -and provides the foundation for innovation and growth."
However, this wave of criticism is not one-sided. Trump has lashed out at tech bigwigs, such as Jeff Bezos, threatening an antitrust suit against Amazon. He has also proposed “closing the parts of the Internet where ISIS is”—which he believed Microsoft's Bill Gates could help him with. Google also received its share of backlash from Trump supporters for connecting Trump to Adolf Hitler. Twitter was also under scrutiny for "banning conservatives on the platform" at the same time, it was accused of altering its algorithms to promote Clinton while giving negative exposure to Trump.
Clearly, tech companies and Trump have been at loggerheads. Never in the history has there been such a strong opposition towards a presidential candidate.
According to data from Researchgate.net, Trump has positioned himself against open Internet, suggesting that net neutrality is an attempt to silence conservatives and that parts of the internet should be shut down to hinder Islamic extremism. He has said in the past that the US should control the Internet, end of story, and he objects to passing control to ICANN. "Congress needs to act, or Internet freedom will be lost for good, since there will be no way to make it great again once it is lost," said Trump's National Policy Director Stephen Miller.
These tech companies believe that Trump is 'bad for tech'. However, are his tech policies also as bad? Unfortunately, unlike Hilary, who had announced a Tech & Innovation Agenda, Trump's technology vision can only be analysed through his interviews and speeches.
On Innovation: He believes in a lower corporate tax rate to excourage innvoation in business and tech. Having said that, the new President of the United States does not have an opinion on the use of technology and data in government administration or a plan to improve digital infrastructure, which were the top priorities of democratic candidate, Hilary Clinton.
On Cybersecurity: Trump's campaign website provides the following details on his cyber security vision for the United States:
- Order an immediate review of all U.S. cyber defenses and vulnerabilities, including critical infrastructure, by Cyber Create, a review team of individuals from the military, law enforcement, and the private sector
- The Cyber Review Team will provide specific recommendations for safeguarding different entities with the best defense technologies tailored to the likely threats, and will be followed up regularly at various Federal agencies and departments
- The Cyber Review Team will establish detailed protocols and mandatory cyber awareness training for all government employees while remaining up-to-date on evolving methods of cyber-attack
- Instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to create Joint Task Forces throughout the U.S. to coordinate Federal, State, and local law enforcement responses to cyber threats
- Order the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide recommendations for enhancing U.S. Cyber Command, with a focus on both offense and defense in the cyber domain
- Develop the offensive cyber capabilities we need to deter attacks by both state and non-state actors and, if necessary, to respond appropriately
On Privacy and Security: The newly elected president of the United States is in favor of mass surveillance and in reinstating the Patriot Act. He's suggested the government should have access to encrypted devices, during the legal tussle between Apple and the U.S.
On Hiring Tech Workers from Outside: The newly elected President's STEM plan is connected to both his job creation platform and his immigration reform policies. He suggests that STEM jobs should be more accessible to American citizens and the best way to do so is by deterring companies from hiring immigrants and college graduates from foreign countries with OPT and H-1B visas.
On Tech Stocks: Trump has expressed skepticism about both the social and economic value of the tech sector. "You have a stock market that is very strange. Could be a little bit similar to, would you say it’s nine years ago now? I guess it’s sort of nine years ago. But you know, you look at some of these tech stocks that are so, so weak as a concept and a company and they’re selling for so much money. And I would have said can that ever happen again? I think that could happen again…I’m talking about companies that have never made any money, that have a bad concept and that are valued at billions of dollars. So here we go again." However, despite the confusing remarks, reports suggest that big tech companies would likely get some benefit from Trump's policies on taxes and offshore cash.
On Intellectual Property: Trump has no published policies on copyrights or patents and has said little about them. He had also been silent about his view on patents.
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