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Author

Sean Davis Jr
March 30, 2025

Big Tech has long championed innovative ideas that were at least on the surface level progressive. Many of Silicon Valley’s finest were rooted at the heart of progressive ideology, marketing directly to left-leaning organizations and campaigns. However, as the Biden administration’s influence over the federal government fades, tech companies are leaving their more progressive agendas in 2024. Aside from the obvious reasons, this pivot could be seen as necessary or an authentic moment where the mask is finally removed. Companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta have become the new titans of industry. Between plans for AI factories in the south and deregulated government agencies, Big Tech is in a position to develop products with the least amount of government oversight this country has seen in decades. Although many in the policy space are not surprised, the outside world is seeing Big Tech shed its progressive skin for innovation and profit.

Innovation in the US has always thrived under clear regulations, giving companies a sense of stability as they grow. However, today’s tech giants are calling for rapid growth that requires a more hands-off approach. President Trump appears to be answering the call by eviscerating agencies that have been an important line of defense against antitrust activity. For starters, Trump fired two of the five Federal Trade Commissioners; Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. While no official reason for the firings was given, Bedoya believes that the firings were a tactic to overturn Humphrey’s Executor v. United States(1935) — a ruling that limits the President’s power to remove independent agency officials. If overturned, the President could dismiss commissioners at will, affecting agencies like the SEC and FDIC. Keep in mind, that both Bedoya and Slaughter are democratic commissioners who were supportive of the previous FTC Chairwoman, Lina Khan. Khan’s approach to regulating Big Tech was aggressive and unyielding. Under her leadership, Google was ruled an illegal monopoly and an investigation into potential antitrust violations from Microsoft’ was opened. However, today’s commissioners may soon be replaced at the Trump administration’s whim. 

They say I’m a menace that’s the picture they paint.

Amidst the unraveling of federal oversight, tech companies are reading the geopolitical tea leaves to plan. Companies like Nvidia and Meta are unveiling plans that indicate production will ramp up not down. During Nvidia’s recent GTC AI conference the company showcased their first humanoid robot, Groot N1. To build these robots capable of human reasoning and general tasks, Nvidia requires over a thousand GPUS training for thousands of hours - a feat that also requires a questionable amount of GWh (gigawatt hours) and over 3 million liters of water.  Typically developed in data centers, these GPUs sit in the middle of an international supply chain that holds the future of three countries in the balance (U.S., China, and Taiwan). If that was not enough, Nvidia also recently began a partnership with Cassava AI, to build Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory. The move comes as no surprise as Africa sources many of these tech companies with the necessary minerals to produce these advanced tools. 

Meta on the other hand has announced their commitment to producing at least six AI-powered tech products including their mixed-reality glasses. While these products will offer convenience, the purchase comes with a data security premium. Meta’s MR glasses have already raised facial recognition concerns after two Harvard students ran an experiment where they obtained access to strangers’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. A feature that the FTC would certainly investigate. Meta’s previous data privacy slip-ups include: the Cambridge Analytica scandal, amongst several other privacy violations. At the top of the year, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media company was revamping its approach to content moderation by doing away with third-party fact-checking and utilizing community notes instead. The approach uses Elon Musk’s open-source algorithm. 

Tell me if my means justify my ends. 

While the Biden-era agency watchdogs kept Big Tech on their toes, the Trump administration is eliminating the regulatory safeguards - to clear the way for the tech industry to successfully compete with international rivals. Yet with freedom from these regulatory constraints, comes a growing concern for consumer and antitrust violations. Moreover, companies like Nvidia and Meta are becoming too big to fail. According to Ameriprise Financial, Nvidia represents approximately 6.5% of the S&P 500, and 10% of the Nasdaq, in other words, U.S. stock averages are directly impacted by Nvidia’s success. Meta’s investment in AI infrastructure is also substantial. With plans to build a $10 billion data center in northeast Louisiana, Meta is cozying up to the right with long-term investments. Left or Right, the U.S. has become detrimentally dependent on the success of the tech industry, yet the about-face many of these companies have made indicates a re-introduction is needed.