Groups Push Biden To Shun Big-Tech Execs In New Administration

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has been urged by 32 antitrust consumer advocates and labor experts not to let Big Tech influence his administration, Reuters reported.

Biden’s transition team contains more tech executives than those opposed to tech influences, Reuters reported. That, to analysts, could indicate the kinds of thoughts that will influence his presidency.

The letter from the consumer advocates urges the incoming administration to exclude executives, lobbyists and consultants that have been affiliated with Big Tech, including companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple or Microsoft. According to the letter, those companies’ practices have generally hurt the American consumer.

“We believe that eliminating the decades-old revolving door between Silicon Valley and your administration will only help your cause,” the letter said, according to Reuters.

The letter also said that the new administration “must confront the threats posed by the monopolistic Big Tech companies. … however, we can only bring these companies to account if you do not rely on affiliates of these very companies to make up your government,” according to Reuters.

All the aforementioned companies have been under investigation as of late by various U.S. and global bodies for antitrust concerns on several different cases.

Signatories include Public Citizen, American Economic Liberties Project, Open Markets Institute, Progressive Democrats of America, the Revolving Door Project and Athena.

PYMNTS reported that Biden will face a steep hill ahead as he takes office, including a prolonged wait for a vaccine and a likely still-divided Congress. He’ll face questions on how to tackle a new stimulus effort, which has been a stalemate for months under the current administration and Congress. His position thus far has been for a robust bill in the trillions of dollars covering a wide range of needs.

He’ll also face tax issues, and he has expressed support for rolling back President Donald Trump-era tax cuts and penalizing moving jobs overseas. He has also supported boosting manufacturing, including for high-tech needs like 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).