A scorching potato: In a scathing critique of tech trade leaders, Epic Video games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney has accused outstanding executives of cozying as much as President-elect Donald Trump in an try and affect anti-competitive insurance policies. Sweeney’s feedback, shared on the social media platform X, spotlight rising considerations concerning the relationship between massive tech and the incoming administration.
Sweeney’s remarks comply with pledges from a number of main tech corporations, together with Google and Apple, to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner, who has solid a private relationship with Trump, is alleged to be making the contribution personally. This sudden shift in allegiance has not gone unnoticed, with Sweeney calling out the hypocrisy of tech leaders who beforehand aligned themselves with Democratic beliefs.
The Epic Video games CEO’s criticism is rooted in his ongoing battles with Apple and Google over smartphone software program distribution. Sweeney has lengthy advocated for the power to promote video games on iPhones and Android units with out being compelled to make use of the official app shops and fee processing programs of those tech giants. He argues that the present system unfairly monopolizes the cellular software program market.
After years of pretending to be Democrats, Large Tech leaders are actually pretending to be Republicans, in hopes of currying favor with the brand new administration. Watch out for the scummy monopoly marketing campaign to vilify competitors regulation as they rip off shoppers and crush opponents.
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 10, 2025
Whereas Sweeney has made some progress in Europe, the state of affairs in the US stays largely unchanged. Final yr, he vowed to proceed preventing till reaching “an final victory” over what he describes as Apple and Google’s “completely damaged imaginative and prescient for the world.”
The tech trade’s obvious pivot towards the Trump administration is just not restricted to Apple and Google. Amazon and Meta have additionally made million-dollar donations to the inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken the extra step of enjoyable Fb’s content material moderation insurance policies – a transfer extensively interpreted as an effort to achieve favor with the brand new administration.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has additionally expressed enthusiasm for the incoming administration, stating that he would “like to personally congratulate Trump” and pledging that the GPU maker will do all the things in its energy to help the brand new administration’s success.
The shift in perspective from tech leaders has not gone unnoticed by Trump himself. In December, the President-elect remarked on the change, saying, “The primary time period, all people was preventing me. On this time period, all people needs to be my pal”.
Superior to see Roblox lastly preventing the Apple tax. I hope that the present Epic v Apple contempt of court docket continuing stops Apple’s ludicrous scare screens and junk charges, so that every one apps can ship customers to internet primarily based funds and go on the financial savings like this. https://t.co/Qi20cmDCtw
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 26, 2024
Nonetheless, considerations stay concerning the potential influence of this newfound alliance between massive tech and the Trump administration on antitrust enforcement. Whereas regulation agency Skadden predicts that aggressive antitrust motion is unlikely to vanish completely throughout Trump’s second time period, there are expectations of a softer method to such circumstances.
FTC Chair Lina Khan has expressed hope that corporations like Amazon and Meta will not obtain “sweetheart offers” in upcoming antitrust trials. This sentiment underscores the continuing rigidity between regulatory our bodies and tech giants, even because the latter seem like aligning themselves extra carefully with the incoming administration.
