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After the previous elections, the country's largest technology companies have become one of the biggest ghosts of the 2020 Democratic primary. Candidates have vowed to quell or even dismantle companies that the party's earlier hopes at the White House had once designated icons of American ingenuity.
From stronger anti-trust measures to data privacy safeguards and new technology-based taxes, candidates' proposals aim to force giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon to report on their actions and their impact on society .
But at the same time, they rely more and more on corporate services to spread their messages and are still flocking to Silicon Valley to raise money.
"It's a bit like the state of the relationship with Facebook:" It's complicated, "said Jessica Alter, co-founder of Tech for Campaigns, an organization that helps Democratic candidates use technology more effectively.
The growing vitriol aimed at the industry represents a break with the Obama era, while the president and his Democratic colleagues maintained close ties with the biggest technology companies. Cross-pollination between Pennsylvania Avenue and Sand Hill Road has led some political activists to describe the valley as a "retired community" for White House agents heading west.
This bicoastal bonhomie has faded in the midst of a series of scandals over data privacy, the spread of misinformation and foreign intrusion into corporate platforms.
"The reality is that the honeymoon is over and people are rightly demanding more regulation and transparency," said Steve Westly, former state controller for California and venture capital investor in Menlo. Park.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the 2020 nominees, set the tone by setting a plan last month to dismantle the biggest technology companies. Under Warren's proposal, companies would be prohibited from operating markets or exchanges when they participate in these platforms. For example, Amazon can not manage its online store when it sells Amazon branded products on the same site, and these functions must be separated into separate companies. Other recent technology mergers, such as Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, should also be canceled. The process, argues Warren, would make it more difficult for corporate titans to push newcomers out of business.
So few of his rivals have gone so far, many are focusing on the issue. Senator Amy Klobuchar calls for stricter enforcement of antitrust laws – regulations to promote competition within industries – and proposes a "data tax", with high-tech companies paying to take advantage of large amounts of user data. The funds would go to new cybersecurity efforts.
"We have had huge data breaches and stolen identities, and (technology companies) can no longer, with credibility, say:" Hey, we do not need of rules of the road ", said Senator Minnesota to reporters recent visit to San Francisco.
Candidates such as Senator Bernie Sanders, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing Secretary Julián Castro and Representative Tulsi Gabbard also voiced support for increased antitrust recourse. Even Senator Stanford-born Cory Booker, close to Silicon Valley, who co-founded a start-up in the video industry, has a harsh word for big tech companies.
"They are taking advantage of our private data in a way that I think violates our fundamental rights and freedoms," Booker said at a public forum held in Washington last week, saying that he wanted to go back to the time when "do a lot better to enforce antitrust laws and dismantle big business as a child."
Senator Kamala Harris – who represents a lot of tech industry titans – has not clarified her position regarding the dissolution of corporations or the more aggressive use of antitrust laws, though it's not the case. she had difficult questions to ask leaders at several Senate hearings.
While they are campaigning in the Bay Area before the California Primary in March 2020, all candidates will likely be forced to express their positions on the subject.
Representative Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, whose district includes the headquarters of Apple and other major technology companies, said he hoped to see candidates adopt more nuanced perspectives. In an interview, he proposed stricter regulations preventing companies from using their platforms to improve their products without dividing them in half. Amazon could still sell Amazon brand batteries on its own site, but not place them at the top of every search. result for "batteries."
"I think we need to adopt a scalpel and not a sledgehammer-type approach," said Khanna, one of the national Sanders campaign co-chairs. "We should not have the only big tech companies in China, with Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent – the central point should not be to break something just because it's big."
The drums of technological scandals have emboldened the rhetoric of the candidates. Trump's victory – and the role played by Facebook and other social media companies as vectors of Russia's interference in the 2016 election – marked a turning point in the way whose Democrats perceived the advanced technology.
"The Democratic Party regarded technical officials as wizards," said Matt Stoller, a member of the Liberal Open Markets Institute and a supporter of Warren's plan, "but it turns out they were as marketers. "
Some leaders have been willing to accept new, moderate regulations as a result of controversy. In a recent editorial published by the Washington Post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg called for "a more active role of governments and regulators" in setting rules for the Internet on issues such as electoral integrity. and the confidentiality of the data.
Other leaders of Silicon Valley are receding more forcefully. "It's fashionable now to attack technology, and some of that is deserved and a lot of it is not," said Carl Guardino, Silicon's president and CEO Valley Leadership Group, a coalition of companies grouping large technology companies. . "If the reward for success is the destruction of a firm determined by a political process and not by the market, what message does it send to future entrepreneurs?"
Even though they criticize the tech giants, the candidates still come to Silicon Valley to raise money in the rich and strongly Democratic region. Harris, Booker, Klobuchar, Castro and others have organized private fundraisers in San Francisco or the Valley in recent weeks. (Notably, Warren has completely sworn out expensive and expensive fundraisers.)
Local observers said the tech community had not supported any candidates, but Harris, Booker, former vice president Joe Biden and former congressman Beto O'Rourke were among the most popular choices.
Candidates also make extensive use of the services of large technology companies to convey their messages to voters and strengthen their campaign infrastructure. Advertisements on Facebook and Google, as well as YouTube and Instagram, which belong to both giants, have become an essential tool for campaigns aimed at reaching new voters, expanding their mailing lists and soliciting donations.
In the first three months of 2019, Democratic presidential candidates spent $ 3.7 million on Facebook ads and $ 1.6 million on Google ads, according to an badysis by Bully Pulpit Interactive. Meanwhile, Trump's re-election campaign and his fundraising committee with the Republican National Committee spent $ 3.8 million on Facebook and $ 2.4 million on Google during the same period.
In an ironic moment, Warren published a host of Facebook ads last month touting his plan to slice society. The technology giant has removed several ads, citing a policy prohibiting the use of its logo, before reversing "in the interest of allowing a lively debate."
Warren quickly sent a fundraising email to his supporters.
"If you want proof of Elizabeth's view that Facebook has too much power," writes his campaign, "look no further than their ability to end a debate about … if Facebook has too much power. "
According to observers, no presidential race in modern history has been so focused on technology companies. This is probably a sign that things are going to happen.
"All elections, now at the end of my life and in your life," Westly predicted, "technology will become an increasingly important part of the debate."
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