Victory of Donald Trump in the US Presidential election and the potential implications for the tech industry
The stunning return of Donald Trump as the victor in the US Presidential Election has global implications.
But his comeback victory against Vice President Kamala Harris will also likely have a notable impact on the tech sector, as evidenced after Bitcoin surged to record high of $75,000, and is currently trading at $74,350 on Wednesday afternoon. Trump is seen as pro crypto by traders.
And Trump’s victory will also entail a notable governmental role for one of his biggest supporters, namely Elon Musk, who reportedly spent election night in Florida with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort as the returns came in.
Tech sector impact
Musk has been one of Donald Trump’s most important financial backers, reportedly donating more than $119m (£92m) to a Super PAC to re-elect him.
Musk also appeared at multiple campaign events with Trump.
Trump has previously indicated that he would invite Mr Musk into his administration to eliminate government waste, and if Musk’s savage cost-cutting at X (formerly Twitter) is anything to go by, thousands of federal employees could soon be looking for jobs elsewhere.
Other areas that Trump’s victory will impact will be on the Democrat controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its attempt to bring back net neutrality laws in the United States after they were overturned during the previous Trump administration.
Antitrust, social media
There could also be a notable shift in American antitrust actions, as the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which enforces the US’s antitrust laws, is headed up by a Biden appointee, namely Lina Khan.
Khan has been zealous in her interpretation of antitrust whilst at the federal agency and has been an aggressive enforcer against a number of Big Tech firms.
Trump’s impact on the AI sector is uncertain, but he is known to be no fan of regulating AI companies, so the current FTC investigations into AI tech firms such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia may not continue.
It also means that the US government’s effort, alongside the UK, to regulate the AI sector may come to an abrupt halt.
Trump has also changed his mind on China’s TikTok.
He initially led the charge as President to get it banned in the United States, but he recently came out against President Biden’s efforts to force ByteDance to divest the platform to a US owner or face a ban.
CHIPS act, Section 230
Another area that Trump will impact the tech sector is the chip sectors.
Trump has previously derided President Biden’s $53 billion CHIPS Act, which provides financial incentives for chipmakers to set up manufacturing on American soil.
Trump may also return to his first term efforts to roll back parts of a key law known as Section 230 during his first term.
Essentially Section 230 stops social media firms from being liable for the content and opinions expressed online by its users.
Republican lawmakers however have long accused Section 230 for protecting social tech platforms when they remove right-wing disinformation and hate speech.
Geopolitical impact
One of the final Trump impacts will be on the geopolitical stage.
Ukraine will likely lose American financial support in its efforts to resist Russia’s illegal invasion of their country, and Trump (who has previously stated he gets along with Vladimir Putin) may reassess American tech sanctions against Russia.
Trump meanwhile is no fan of China, and could likely ramp up the trade war between Beijing and Washington, which could impact big tech firms that are reliant on Chinese supply chains and factories.
There is also a question mark over whether Trump will continue to provide protection for Taiwan – which is responsible for producing many of the world’s cutting edge processors.
Trump has previously signalled a potential reduction in US military support for Taiwan.