For decades, Silicon Valley companies have believed that they were essentially disconnected from electoral politics. As one senior tech executive put it, until recent years, if you were a venture capitalist or CEO, you might hire lobbyists to talk to politicians, but aside from that, most people in Silicon Valley thought politics was foolish. This is how The New Yorker described the “distant relationship” between Silicon Valley and Washington. However, some argue that the idea of Silicon Valley being “distant” from politics is a “myth.” Since the 1980s, high-tech companies in the region have begun to engage in politics and have continuously strengthened their political influence. As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepared to take office, the notion of Silicon Valley “moving into” Washington became more prevalent. For some, the growing political power of Silicon Valley is cause for celebration, while for others, it is a cause for concern. The Latest.com series “The Impact of ‘Tech Politics’ on the United States” continues to explore the story behind this phenomenon.
Are Tech Giants the “New Oligarchs” of the U.S.?
Silicon Valley or the tech industry has traditionally been seen as a group disconnected from politics. However, their presence in the U.S. political sphere is becoming increasingly prominent. As the new U.S. government prepares to take office, the concept of “Silicon Valley invading Washington” has drawn much media attention. “The tech industry is heading to Washington,” reported The Economist on January 2 this year. For years, Washington had been a place tech company bosses avoided, unless Congress called them in for a reprimand. Now, President-elect Trump is attempting to integrate technology into technocracy, something new for U.S. politics. The day after The Economist‘s article, Axios reported that “Trump’s government 2.0” was becoming “Silicon Valley’s access government,” with Silicon Valley expected to influence Washington in the same way Wall Street once did.
The “Silicon Valley moving into Washington” reported by media outlets like The Economist and Axios refers to Trump’s appointments of various tech elites. According to a New York Times report on December 23 last year, the number of Silicon Valley executives favored by Trump and likely to join his cabinet is increasing, which is the latest evidence of the growing influence of tech giants on Washington. In addition to figures like Herberg and Isaacman mentioned in the previous article “The Impact of ‘Tech Politics’ on the U.S. (Part 1),” Trump also appointed Andreessen Horowitz partner Kubal as the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a position that could give him a key role in the staffing of the entire U.S. federal government. Former Andreessen Horowitz general partner Krishnan may serve as the White House advisor on technology and artificial intelligence policy. Furthermore, former Uber executive Michael has been nominated by Trump to be the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. On the local level, OpenAI CEO Altman is part of San Francisco Mayor Lee’s transition team.
In fact, Silicon Valley’s political influence began to attract widespread attention during the 2024 U.S. election year, especially last summer, when Silicon Valley became divided into three factions on candidate support. The New York Times reported in July last year that executives like Box CEO Levie and investor McNamara supported the Democratic presidential candidate, while those on the opposite side, referred to as the “tech right-wing,” included figures like Thiel and Horowitz. Meta CEO Zuckerberg, among others, remained neutral. McNamara and Horowitz had a public fallout over their candidate support, sparking public debate about Silicon Valley’s political leanings. Additionally, the substantial financial backing from Bill Gates and Elon Musk for Democratic candidate Harris and Republican candidate Trump, respectively, further demonstrated Silicon Valley’s efforts to influence politics.
According to The Hill, the 2024 election is being called “Silicon Valley’s first election.” CNBC reported that over $245 million was raised by the cryptocurrency industry in the 2024 election cycle. A report by the nonprofit oversight organization Public Citizen shows that the cryptocurrency industry accounted for nearly half of all corporate political donations in the election, with no other industry able to compete. “Silicon Valley is increasingly deciding who can be elected and who cannot,” Axios reported on October 8 last year. The article cited The New Yorker reporter Duhigg, who stated that the tech industry uses political donations to draw attention to Silicon Valley’s financial power, “Silicon Valley will continue to use money and its massive user base as bait and weapons to bully and lobby politicians.”
“Silicon Valley’s influence easily surpasses Wall Street and Washington. It is transforming society more profoundly than any group in the U.S. since Roosevelt’s New Deal,” reported Politico. As tech giants increasingly engage in politics, some observers believe that they have more or less “authoritarian control,” capable of setting the rules and cultural norms of the digital world, norms that could be as powerful as political power itself. Boston’s WBUR radio described the tech giants as the “new oligarchs of America,” noting that they are pouring billions into politics, influencing elected presidents, and controlling an endless flow of public data. The merging of technology, money, and politics is turning Silicon Valley’s tech giants into the most powerful people in the U.S.
“Silicon Valley’s Disconnect from Politics” Is Actually a “Myth”
According to The Hill, it is commonly believed that Silicon Valley has always “steered clear of politics,” with its tech legends “bravely resisting politics.” However, this is actually a myth. In reality, Silicon Valley has been involved in politics since the 1980s. By the 1990s, the tech industry had already “taken over” the White House and began developing closer ties with the government. The last decade marks the beginning of the “tech era.”
In the 1980s, as the high-tech industry flourished, CEOs from Silicon Valley companies like Apple’s Jobs, HP’s Packard, and Intel’s Noyce started to participate in the technology committee established by then-California Governor Brown. They advocated for more government investment, cutting capital gains taxes, and deregulation. In 1983, after Apple launched its first personal computer, Jobs initiated a school computer bill, which, although it failed to pass in Congress, was approved in California. By 1984, over 75% of public schools in the state had computers. With government support, Jobs successfully created a new educational technology market.
The leap from “state politics” to “presidential politics” for Silicon Valley occurred in 1992 when Democratic presidential candidate Clinton reached out to the tech industry. Prior to this, most tech moguls quietly voted Republican. Clinton’s outreach was led by Apple’s CFO Barham. Barham suggested that the best way to attract these tech people was to have them draft a national technology policy for Clinton. Barham created a CEO policy team composed of Silicon Valley’s most influential CEOs. Clinton published “America’s Technology Policy” in the weeks leading up to the 1992 election, and many tech leaders supported him in his presidential campaign. Clinton’s victory allowed tech figures to enter the White House. When he gave his first State of the Union address, he placed Apple’s CEO Sculley next to Hillary and appointed Barham as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
The Fick Institute believes that Silicon Valley’s influence on U.S. politics began in 1998 with a landmark antitrust lawsuit between the U.S. federal government and Microsoft, one of the largest in U.S. history, which made large tech companies realize the need to leverage politics to protect their interests. Since entering the 21st century, the economic growth of large tech companies has been accompanied by an increase in their political influence both domestically and globally. They have invested large resources to evade high taxes and push the government to relax regulations on their industries. However, the political rise of large tech companies has only recently begun to attract public attention.
Fudan University’s Professor Zhang Jiadong, in an interview stated that in the past decade, especially in the last five years, Silicon Valley has become one of the fastest-growing industrial groups in the U.S. Companies like Nvidia have a market value comparable to the GDP of many countries, a rare phenomenon in history. With their economic rise, Silicon Valley’s influence on public opinion and politics has also increased. As their influence continues to grow, Silicon Valley has begun to seek to transform that power into political energy. Zhang believes that Silicon Valley will not stop its involvement in politics. The leading companies in the region are continuously growing, turning Silicon Valley from a simple tech hub into a massive conglomerate encompassing tech, information, finance, and even politics. This is one of the most significant changes in the U.S. in recent years.
“Tech Optimism” vs. “Tech Coup”
As Silicon Valley’s political influence continues to grow, opinions within the U.S. have become divided. According to The New Yorker, there are two ways to view Silicon Valley’s new political complexity. Some see it as “how modern democracy should work,” while others view it as “a symptom of systemic corruption in U.S. politics.” Those in the first camp believe that many political struggles succeed because they receive support from the wealthy, and the tech giants have those advantages. Democratic consultant Lagone said, “No matter how wealthy you are, you cannot win unless you have the support of the majority or close to the majority.” From this viewpoint, tech industry supporters have simply built an alliance and ensured their voices are heard.
Those who hold the second view believe that Silicon Valley’s political actions demonstrate how deeply U.S. governance and legislation have been distorted by money, to the point where only billionaires can advance their agendas. As many of Silicon Valley’s critics see it, today’s startup founders and venture capitalists, much like previous nouveaux riches, use their wealth to achieve selfish goals.
There are also differing opinions within the U.S. on how technology should develop and its impact on the country’s future. According to “Politico,” although many Americans are skeptical about the direction of technological development, many Silicon Valley AI entrepreneurs believe they are ushering in a “world with nothing to fear.” In 2023, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote a 5,000-word “Tech Optimism” manifesto, calling on the government not to restrict technological progress, but instead to “boost markets, increase energy production, improve education, and strengthen freedom and democracy.” Andreessen believes that no material problem, whether caused by nature or technology, cannot be solved with more technology. This view is also known as “tech solutionism,” and its supporters oppose government preventive measures, such as limiting the number of Uber drivers to ease traffic congestion or protect the livelihood of taxi drivers.
However, many scholars and the public disagree with the above viewpoint. Many believe that “tech optimism” places the interests of certain people—usually those who already possess immense power and resources—above the interests of everyone else. Others argue that Silicon Valley’s influence on politics is undermining government governance. Works such as The Alchemist of Risk: How Big Tech Companies Turn Profits into Power by Tulane University scholar Larca and Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley by Stanford University scholar Shack both argue that the tech industry is increasingly using its unprecedented wealth and power to undermine democracy, and they propose suggestions for the U.S. government to reclaim power from these industries.
“It is crucial that governments around the world recognize the growing political influence of Silicon Valley,” states an article from the Fick Institute. Due to the massive resources that U.S. tech giants invest in lobbying, they can exploit political manipulation mechanisms and shape public opinion. Therefore, their influence on policy-making must undergo stricter scrutiny and debate. The article suggests organizing an annual international conference to bring together tech executives, prominent stakeholders, investors, and government officials to address the most pressing issues in the tech sector.
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