Big Tech struggles to find footing in Trump's first 100 days

The Hill

01-05-2025

The world's biggest tech firms have been left scrambling to adjust to the tumultuous first 100 days of President Trump's second term, despite their efforts to cozy up to the president and his tech-heavy administration.
Trump's unpredictable approach to tariffs, his administration's continued accusations of censorship and the decision to double down on antitrust enforcement have underlined the limits of Big Tech's approach, even as it sees some wins on deregulation.
'These efforts to build close relationships have not altogether paid dividends,' said Andrew Lokay, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors.
'It's a tough time to be a tech CEO in Washington, D.C., and I think that may come as a little bit of a surprise to some of the CEOs who thought that investing in the relationships with Trump would have a bigger payoff in terms of policy,' he added.
Big Tech had a contentious relationship with Trump throughout his first term, and it took a turn for the worse after numerous social media platforms banned the president in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.
Following Trump's win last fall, the biggest names in tech seemed keen to start anew with the incoming president, visiting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort and offering million-dollar donations to his inaugural fund.
These tech leaders — including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook — attended Trump's inauguration in January, sitting side by side in prime seats in the Capitol Rotunda and giving the appearance of a new rapport with the president.
With Tesla CEO Elon Musk and several other Silicon Valley figures joining the administration, it also appeared as though Big Tech would have key allies in the White House.
'Silicon Valley was perhaps expecting low taxes, low regulation, pro-business perspective in the White House, and to some extent, we've seen some of that, with the push for tax cuts in Congress and the president's deregulatory agenda,' Lokay said.
'But at the same time, tech remains in the crosshairs,' he added.
Trump's back-and-forth on tariffs has wreaked havoc on the tech industry, threatening to disrupt supply chains central to the flow of electronics.
In March, the president announced sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs, including massive import taxes on goods from China and Taiwan — key prongs in tech supply chains.
Trump ultimately backed off as the markets panicked, opting for a 90-day pause on most tariffs. However, the levies against China remained in place and continued to rise as Beijing and Washington went tit for tat on tariffs.
As a result, Chinese imports in the U.S. now face a 145 percent tariff, and U.S. imports in China face a 125 percent tariff.
The tech industry received a reprieve earlier this month when Trump announced that electronics would be exempt from the tariffs. However, the relief was short-lived, as the president signaled he would levy separate sector-based import taxes.
The administration's rapid shifts have left tech companies scrambling to keep up.
'It's been a 'Nightmare on Elm Street,'' Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said. 'No one expected it would've been this turbulent.'
'Everyone knew reciprocal tariffs [were] going to come. … No one thought we were going to basically put a shut-off valve for China, which is the heart and lungs of the supply chain,' he added.
After Punchbowl News reported Tuesday that Amazon was planning to show customers how much Trump's tariffs added to the cost of an item, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the move as a 'hostile and political act,' holding up a photo of Bezos.
The e-commerce giant later denied the report, saying the plans were not approved and 'not going to happen.'
At the same, Big Tech's efforts at reconciliation with Trump have seemingly not tempered Republicans' frustrations with the industry over what they view as censorship of and bias against conservatives.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a probe into leading tech firms' policies related to content moderation and user bans in February, suggesting they could amount to illegal censorship.
The administration's efforts have been accompanied by those of GOP leaders in Congress. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has sent off dozens of subpoenas to major tech companies, demanding information about potential censorship.
'Now that Republicans hold both chambers of Congress and the White House, I expect this is an issue that they will pursue more aggressively,' Lokay said.
The Trump administration has also declined to pull any punches on antitrust enforcement against Big Tech, taking Meta to court over monopoly allegations and pushing forward with an effort to break up Google.
Both cases were brought during the first Trump administration. The Biden administration pushed ahead with an aggressive antitrust approach, bringing additional cases against Google, Amazon and Apple.
However, as Trump took office a second time surrounded by Silicon Valley moguls, it was unclear whether his administration would take up the antitrust mantle with the same vigor.
His picks to fill key roles at the FTC and Department of Justice (DOJ) hinted at continued scrutiny of Big Tech, which was reinforced by the DOJ's decision to follow through with the prior administration's push to split Google and Chrome.
The FTC's trial against Meta also got underway earlier this month, despite Zuckerberg's reported efforts to lobby Trump for a settlement. The Meta CEO was called to the stand as the agency's first witness and spent three lengthy days answering questions.
'There has continued to be a rather aggressive pursuit of antitrust actions against some of the leading tech companies,' said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in tech policy at the Cato Institute.
Still, Trump's second term hasn't been entirely negative for the tech industry. Deregulation has been a key emphasis for the administration, including on artificial intelligence (AI), where officials including Vice President Vance have instead placed a heavy emphasis on innovation.
'This administration appears to likely be taking a lighter-touch approach to artificial intelligence, although we don't fully know what that approach will look like yet,' Huddleston added.
Shortly after taking office, Trump revoked former President Biden's executive order focused on AI safety, which Huddleston noted was seen as 'more restrictive and prescriptive when it came to the future' of the technology.
The administration has yet to release its own AI policy but put out a request for public comment on its 'AI Action Plan' in February, which received more than 10,000 responses, the White House said earlier this month.
'With President Trump, it's always worth keeping in mind, expect the unexpected,' Lokay said. 'He can be unpredictable, and you can be on his good side one moment, you can be on the outs another moment.'
'I wouldn't be surprised if tech continues to try to build those relationships with the president,' he continued. 'But at the same time, there's no guarantee that that could yield results in terms of policy outcomes.'