Initially, it seemed that President Donald Trump would support Big Tech in their endeavors.
However, the tech sector is now experiencing the fallout from his global trade policies.
On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the possibility of imposing “a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services” should negotiations regarding tariffs with the US fail. This scenario is contrary to what tech executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, anticipated when they supported the new administration.
For Zuckerberg, Trump was envisioned as a decisive leader capable of managing the EU’s stringent regulations. Instead, tensions between the US and EU are escalating, just weeks before the EU is poised to penalize Meta (and Apple) for breaching the Digital Markets Act.
In an ironic twist, Elon Musk’s approval ratings in the US have “flipped as his backing for President Trump has grown,” as noted by Nate Silver this week. Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock has plummeted by over a third this year, and due to tariffs, the company has eliminated the option to purchase new, US-made vehicles in China.
As I predicted last week, TikTok is particularly affected by these developments.
