Democracy Vs Monopoly: A look at the potential relationship between Biden and Big-Tech

Just shy of a week into Joe Biden’s presidential era, we have seen a multitude of executive orders signed which have given us, the laymen, an insight into the trajectory Joe Biden wishes to see his presidency follow. Some of the most prominent orders include, ending the withdrawal process from the WHO, re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement, reversing the travel ban targeting primarily Muslim countries and a proclamation to stop the construction of the border wall.[1] One really doesn’t have to be a fly on the oval wall to see that this is in direct conflict and retaliation to President Trump’s position.

However, what may surprise many, is that despite these two men clearly having very bi-partisan views on the whole; they do share a common disagreement towards Big-Tech’s role in society. Of these companies, Sarah Miller (a key spokeswoman for Joe Biden) says that "Facebook is broadly seen as the most prominent villain, among all the tech monopolists."[2] With Zuckerberg having not been ‘’a welcome figure at the cocktail party any more. And I don't think he has been for a long time."[3] Indeed, Joe Biden said in an interview with the NYT that, ‘’I’ve never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. I’ve never been a big Zuckerberg fan.”[4]

Although their respective grievances towards Big-Tech may differ in their starting points, their end goals are the same. For Trump, his objection stems around the idea of ‘freedom of speech’ and how these companies are silencing right-wing opinions. Something that he responded to in May 2020 by issuing an executive order that threatened penalties against social media companies that he accused of banning or limiting speech based on their users' political views.[5] This flag in the ground for President Trump ironically came back full circle, with the 45th President being banned from Facebook and Instagram after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6th.[6] For Biden, his animosity towards Facebook and Big-Techs stands around their lack of monitorisation on content posted. Regardless of the starting point, both men want to see the influence of these companies curbed, and the stick that want to use to beat this idea into fruition comes in the form of Section 230 of the CDA. 

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is an act that ‘’provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users’’[7] Or in less legal jargon, a social media platform cannot be sued for the opinions its users publish. In the executive order issued in May 2020, Trump had requested the FTC step up regulation of social media sites and reconsider whether they should be allowed to broadly protect themselves under Section 230.[8] More recently, on Friday 15th January 2020, President Biden outrightly said that Section 230 should be ‘’revoked, immediately.”[9]

The stance that these two President’s of the United States are maintaining towards Big-Tech is in line with the current appetite globally, and it could be very interesting to see what comes about in the next year. If we look at the last article I wrote, Epic Games taking on Apple and Google is a sure sign that the smaller tech companies are tiring of the monopoly that is currently held in the developer industry. Within the media industry, Google and Facebook are now currently fighting legislation in Australia, with Google threatening to remove its search engine, if Australia introduce a new law that requires Big-Tech companies to pay news media companies for showing their content.[10] WhatsApp (Facebook owned) is facing a sharp hiatus of users globally to competitors such as Signal over their new privacy and data laws. I could continue to show you examples of macro and micro aggressions being pointed towards these companies, but what is clear, is that the back is up by many of the users of Big-Tech.

Where this will lead us is hard to say. But, if we just look at the US, the home of these conglomerates, there is picture that is starting to be painted, isn’t a very positive one for them. Facebook is currently fighting 46 separate state cases by the FTC for "illegally maintaining its monopoly position" by buying up the competition.[11] Google, as of December 17th; have had more than 30 states added to Google’s mushrooming legal woes, that accuse the Silicon Valley titan of illegally arranging its search results to push out smaller rivals. This comes about just one day after 10 other states accused Google of abusing its dominance in advertising and overcharging publishers.[12] Apple is currently under scrutiny from the FTC for, as they’ve put it, a "heavy taxation" that means developers are forced to use monetisation models that "rely on surveillance, manipulation and other harmful practices."[13]

 What is for sure, is that the canvas is ready to be re-painted, and god knows there are thousands of companies chomping at the bit to be given this opportunity. Thus, Joe Biden’s influence on this matter could potentially have a cataclysmic effect globally. The mood is set, the dinner guests have arrived, and it seems like the smell of Section 230 is wafting from the kitchen. This could be the starter that is about to be served; which could be the pre-cursor to a very healthy and hearty meal for the people who have not had a seat at the table before.

[1] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/all-of-president-bidens-key-executive-orders-in-one-chart-2021-01-21

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55762104

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/01/17/joe-biden-slams-mark-zuckerberg-as-a-real-problem/

[5] https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-threatens-to-use-executive-orders-against-big-tech-2020-7?r=US&IR=T

[6] https://www.thejournal.ie/facebook-ban-donald-trump-supreme-court-5332282-Jan2021/

[7] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230

[8] https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/05/28/what-is-section-230-and-why-does-trump-want-to-change-it/?sh=30b57f64389d

[9] https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-president-election-section-230-communications-decency-act-revoke

[10] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/22/google-threatens-to-shut-down-search-in-australia-if-digital-news-code-goes-ahead

[11] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55762104

[12] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/technology/google-antitrust-monopoly.html

[13] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-08-ftc-wary-of-apple-and-google-squeezing-developers