The most important business figures in Silicon Valley are expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump‘s subsequent opening on Monday in windy Washington to bolster ties with the incoming administration.
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The Supreme Court upheld a rules on Friday that could result in an immediate ban on the popular social media app, making TikTok CEO Shou Chew’s presence on Monday particularly noteworthy.  ,
” He’s not my favorite guest to the Inauguration, but listen if he wants a career, if he wants to keep his work, I would suggest he go out there and sell his organization”, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), speaking to reporters on Friday.  ,
Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a vital advisor to Donald Trump, had stated in a blog on his social media platform X that he was honored to sit alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the meeting. After Trump announced that the meeting had been moved home, seating arrangements for the opening was change.  ,
A GOP specialist who was granted anonymity to talk openly said,” In many ways, I think the recognition and embrace of this innovative administration by Big Tech is a good thing because these companies have treated Republicans so badly and have effectively censored us for many years.” They now realize that the majority of the state feels our beliefs and our view, and that’s a powerful thing.
The biggest titles in the technology sector will be in the spotlight at the inauguration, and they also made significant contributions to Trump’s subsequent inauguration, with most filings with the Federal Election Commission stating that they had received more checks than in past years.
Microsoft is contributing$ 1 million, double its contributions in 2017 and 2021, while Google is tripling its offer to$ 1 million after giving$ 285, 000 to Trump’s and President Joe Biden’s inaugurations in the past. In addition, Meta, Amazon, Uber, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman each donated at least$ 1 million to the inaugural fund. Zuckerberg is likewise co-hosting a black-tie greeting along with GOP donor Miriam Adelson, reported by Puck. The approaching president has raised$ 200 million for the opening, according to a cause comfortable, breaking past records.
Following Trump’s victory in the election, the tech executives each traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with him to discuss their business goals and support new guidelines in the coming year.  ,
” Everyone is trying to get in with the fresh management and it’s a high-stakes game”, said a business lawyer, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect on the situation. Everyone wants to be prepared, and these Directors are doing the first legwork, and in the next four years, there will likely be significant requirements coming down the pike regarding competitive studies, artificial intelligence, and social media safeguards.
If the incoming Trump administration is lenient with regulation and antitrust enforcement, many of these companies could gain. Trump will now decide whether or not to ban the app, but has since pledged to keep it accessible in the United States, though it’s unclear how he will go about doing that. Apple executives are likely as eager to avoid new tariffs on their goods as they did when Trump won tariff protections for his products during his first term. Meta is suing the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it has been anticompetitive, and a trial is on the horizon. Amazon and Space X are also major federal contractors.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA ), who was the author of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, which laid the groundwork for the digital revolution, views the inauguration as an opportunity to start discussions on new legislation.
When these businesses are featured on the platform, these are the ones who make up the majority of the three bills, according to Markey, in a statement to the Washington Examiner on Thursday. As I see them there, I am aware that we need an AI civil rights act in the same way that I am aware that we need a teenage privacy bill of rights.
I’m afraid they want to leave their jobs to make sure we deal with the sinister side of cyberspace. For me, putting themselves up there almost makes sense because it will allow us to discuss all the other inquiries that we ought to make, he said.
In his farewell address, Biden compared the tech CEOs of the country to oligarchs and warned of the danger of their influence. The outgoing president’s use of the word” oligarchy “is a direct reference to the situation in Russia, in which the nation’s most wealthy leaders are loyal to President Vladimir Putin.
” Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said in a prime-time speech on Wednesday.  ,
He added that he was concerned about the “potential rise of a tech industrial complex that could seriously harm our nation.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) also said he has” larger concerns” about the way corporate money is flowing into the inauguration committees
” This is not simply to Donald Trump. We have a serious issue with how politics raises money. The way money corrupts politics, and the way that we raise money for the inauguration, which is so many corporate interests are giving a lot of money, I don’t think that’s healthy and good for our democracy,” Booker said on Thursday.  ,
Ahead of the inauguration on Monday, Sens. The Big Tech companies were contacted by Elisabeth Warren (D-MA ) and Michael Bennet (D-CO ) to ask why they donated to Trump’s inauguration fund on Friday.  ,
The duo expressed concerns in the letters addressed to Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Uber, writing that they fear the contributions were made to” avoid scrutiny, limit regulation and buy favor.”
Warren and Bennet highlight the risks ahead for these large tech companies, including “pending federal investigations and regulatory actions.”
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The lawmakers write,” Your company and many other Big Tech donors are already the subject of ongoing federal investigations and regulatory actions. You have a clear and direct interest in obtaining favors from the incoming administration.” Congress and the public deserve answers in light of these donations, which raise questions about corporate funding and corruption.
The senators requested from the businesses that they provide a list of additional questions that must be answered no later than January 30 with their” justification.”
