Should BigTech Stay Out of Politics? Big Tech Needs Responsible Data Usage

The corporate power in major tech companies has long been a political influence some in the public sphere aren't keen on, while other digital platforms appear to have legal immunity, and some simply have too much sway in the White House.

Should major technology companies be allowed to influence government regulation, politics, and even voting? A recent report by Pro Morning Consult suggests that Americans aren't keen on having tech companies aboard the political train.

The US-BigTech relationship sets the stage for many countries, including Germany and other EU regions. Discover whether Big Tech needs to take a step back or whether tech companies need to follow stringent regulations for wider acceptance.

Social Media Platforms Have Long Influenced Politics: The Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Digital platforms have been a concerning influence on various policy stream ventures in the White House for years. The Cambridge Analytica controversy is a well-known scandal from 2018 when the Guardian and the New York Times blew the whistle on how politicians used Big Tech through social media platforms to manipulate political messages.

Cambridge Analytica provided insights to political parties with APIs and carefully targeted algorithms that allowed the parties to use data-driven campaigns to target users based on social media activity and connections on Facebook. User-generated content became a primary source for politicians to model their campaigns based on what people did online.

However, an API that allowed the data mining of Facebook users for political microtargeting purposes started in 2010, allowing Barack Obama's campaign team to target Facebook users based on the data supplied to Cambridge Analytica. Fortunately, Facebook completely shut down the API-powered tool in 2015.

Still, social media companies continue to allow data mining. The Reuters Institute published a digital news report in 2023, showing how 21% of X (formerly Twitter) users were extremely interested in politics and political news, while another 11% were somewhat interested in news and opinions related to politics.

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley confirms that X, Elon Musk's social media brainchild, sells real-time data for law enforcement surveillance, which appears innocent enough. However, the Guardian reports that Elon Musk's X is under pressure from regulators for using pre-ticked consent boxes that go against the EU GDPR privacy regulations.

Social media companies are at the heart of how Big Tech mines data from user-generated content to be used as political powers and policy stream influencers. Elon Musk is one of the cornerstone concerns for policy experts, voters, and the public sphere in general. Many leading digital platforms, including private companies, have forgotten about responsible data usage and privacy laws.

Any social media company in the EU can benefit from our project management support services that ensure compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), especially with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities that allow digital services to process and share user data. Responsible and compliant access is pivotal.

The View on Political Plutocrats: Elon Musk's Love for Trump in the White House

Unbiased opinions and news reports from the Guardian are valuable tools for the public sphere to comprehend the relationships between Donald Trump, Elon Musk, various governments, and other technology companies like Google and Apple. Democrats have long believed that Big Tech serves the White House and the Democratic federal government positively.

On the contrary, Elon Musk's love for Trump is a common highlight that reveals how Republicans may see more benefits from the relationship between major technology companies and the White House. Elon Musk is a well-known plutocrat supporting Donald Trump's return to the U.S. Senate, often forcing his political opinions on X users.

Even policy experts like Adam Jentleson from the New York Times suggest that Democrat interest groups are misaligned with the belief that Big Tech is helpful to Democrats. Jentleson also explains that Democrats should stop focusing on the dichotomy between challenging corporate power and an anti-monopoly policy and kitchen table issues.

Jentleson is among the policy experts who believe that Democrats should focus on the kitchen table issues. Still, Fox News reported that New York's Democratic Attorney General demanded that Big Tech protect voters and users from any fake news and misinformation leading up to the elections. This is where Musk's love became a problem.

The right-wing lurch of X was prevalent when Kamala Harris' political campaign reached its limit on the famous social media platform, having some opinions censored. The typical X user base saw an influx of right-wing extremist opinions leading up to the elections, emphasizing Elon Musk's love for Trump and a Republican U.S. Senate.

Elon Musk turned X into a pro-Trump echo chamber as a Republican supporter, which further harmed the freedom of speech for voters across America. Plutocrats like Elon Musk have been biased in who they want in the federal government and who will move into the White House. Meanwhile, Google and Apple are also potentially guilty of censorship violations.

The Missouri Republican Attorney General is investigating Google's alleged censoring of conservative speech, showing that both White House campaigns experienced an opposing influence by major technology companies leading up to the elections in 2024. The political power of plutocrats isn't limited to the United States, either.

Apple and Google are accused of political censorship regarding the Alexei Navalny app, with Apple reportedly removing hundreds of VPNs across Russia, even more than the Kremlin's censorship body reported on official records. Fortunately, the EU's digital and data privacy laws challenge Google and social media's artificial intelligence data usage.

Data privacy may be an improvement in the EU. Still, headlines like "Big Tech give liberals a financial boost ahead of elections" reveal that Europeans also experience political influence by digital platforms and tech giants. Stricter moderation policies for user-generated content will better serve the relationship between Big Tech, policy experts, and digital platform users.

No tech giant should have legal immunity or too much sway in the White House or EU elections. The U.S. Senate and European Council provide guidelines but require more stringent measures to protect user data and online experiences. Fortunately, clients can use our market entry in Germany to access experts who ensure more responsible tech innovations and data usage.

The Voices Who Matter: Should Big Tech Stay Out of Politics or Engage in Responsible Public Moderation Policies?

Fox News reports that federal agencies and major technology companies silenced voters with the Newsguard fact-checking censorship that took away the First Amendment rights of Americans - the freedom of speech. Undesirable user-generated content was silenced through the censorship cartel to ensure biased opinions were rampant.

Meanwhile, a post-election analysis by Pro Morning Consult shows that 64% of citizens believe that all companies and Silicon Valley tech giants should stay out of politics, with 70% of Americans calling for a peaceful transition of power once Trump returns to the White House. Voters aren't content with the influence digital technologies or private companies have in politics.

However, the federal government and the U.S. Senate aren't the only culprits. A Big Tech privacy poll shows that 70% of individuals want their governments to regulate data privacy better, including content moderation decisions for user-generated content and moderation policies to restrict what data technology companies can use, whether for politics or not.

The Centre for European Reform (CER) shows that Britain also wishes to follow the U.S. House of Representatives by engraving unique regulations for privacy related to artificial intelligence and data science. Big Tech companies also face a potential EU lobby ban because brands like Google, Meta, and Amazon Web Services used shady strategies.

For now, the best defense against major tech companies using digital platforms to influence individual political opinions and policies in the EU is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Companies can't protect their users or assets entirely from the political persuasion of Big Tech, but they can use data responsibly with our business consultancy and coaching services.

The Responsibility of Tech Giants: Empowering Technology Companies to Have the Right Goals

At Contextual Solutions, we pride ourselves in protecting user data and user-generated content on all digital platforms by coaching leaders from EU tech companies, ensuring that responsible usage is the primary goal. Our FinTech experts can guide your tech company to focus on the right goals and leave politics for the politicians.

Our expert consultants can also help your tech company serve the 70% of users who want stricter moderation policies and regulations from governments, according to the Big Tech privacy poll. We ensure GDPR compliance and provide go-to-marketing strategy consulting that won't have users criticize your moderation policies or content moderation decisions.

Big Tech will remain beyond government control, which remains a critical concern for users, individuals, voters, and consumers in the US and EU. Joe Biden began an attempt at reigning in Big Tech in 2021 and 2022 following multiple antitrust cases. However, the EU's 2022 digital market regulation and Biden's efforts haven't ended the antitrust issues.

Policy experts still need to prioritize the neo-liberal theory of creating competitive marketplaces with information transparency and decentralization because Big Tech has a monopoly that influences politics in the EU and White House, while governments don't quite have Big Tech under control yet.

We are far from comfortably welcoming an open relationship between Big Tech and politics. Data shows that technology companies influence the policy stream and campaign efforts across multiple continents, with many believing Big Tech should stay out of politics. Still, data privacy compliance is the best starting point for limiting Big Tech's political influence.

Summing Up Whether Big Tech Should Stay Out of Politics

Some policy experts believe individuals should focus on more relevant issues. However, many individuals believe Big Tech should stay out of politics entirely. Big Tech can drive data insights that benefit a specific policy stream to help the federal government deliver on promises. Still, the data shouldn't be exploited to target the user base of any technology for political or election purposes.

Our entrepreneurial coaching services can ensure new technology companies follow GDPR for the most responsible data usage, even when using artificial intelligence and data science. Our FinTech acquisitions and investments service will help clients invest in the right technology while prioritizing data privacy for the user base in high-risk Big Tech. Contact us today to discuss responsible data usage.