<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/05/jeff-bezos-trump-regulations-tech>
"Amazon’s billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos, is the latest tech mogul to offer a
new wave of support for Donald Trump’s incoming presidency, endorsing the
former president’s plans to reduce government regulation and signalling a
willingness to collaborate.
Speaking at the
New York Times’s DealBook Summit on Wednesday, the
entrepreneur and
Washington Post owner described himself as “very optimistic
this time around” about Trump’s economic and tech strategy.
“I am very optimistic that President Trump is serious about this regulatory
agenda,” Bezos said. “If I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because
we do have too much regulation in this country.”
The intervention marks a dramatic reversal from their previously antagonistic
relationship. During Trump’s first term, the former president repeatedly
attacked Bezos, criticising Amazon and the Washington Post for alleged tax
avoidance and biased reporting.
Bezos also defended his recent controversial decision to prevent the
Washington Post from endorsing the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, a
move that reportedly cost the newspaper about 10% of its subscriber base. He
described the decision as “far from cowardly”, arguing that the paper needed to
maintain some form of independence.
This political repositioning also comes as other tech leaders, notably X and
Tesla’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, have also
signalled support for Trump. Musk has contributed nearly $75m to a pro-Trump
political action committee and is now set to co-lead the so-called “Department
of Government Efficiency” meant to slash wasteful government spending. Last
week, Zuckerberg dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate and is believed to
be angling for a spot influencing the incoming president’s tech policy.
Still, the tech collaboration between the private sector and government is not
exactly new. While the Biden administration went after Apple this year over
monopolistic practices, it also developed the sweeping 2023 AI executive order
that was in part geared towards tech regulation and helped guide the
Chips
Act through Congress to become law.
Amazon, Meta and OpenAI are also already a part of a consortium of tech
companies in a US government-led initiative to address AI safety regulations.
As for business relationships, Bezos’s pivot appears strategically motivated,
with his space company, Blue Origin, potentially positioned to compete for
federal contracts in a future Trump administration."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
