A hot potato: In a scathing critique of tech industry leaders, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney has accused prominent executives of cozying up to President-elect Donald Trump in an attempt to influence anti-competitive policies.
Sweeney’s comments, shared on the social media platform X, highlight growing concerns about the relationship between big tech and the incoming administration.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has forged a personal relationship with Trump, is said 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 previously aligned themselves with Democratic ideals.
However, concerns remain about the potential impact of this newfound alliance between big tech and the Trump administration on antitrust enforcement.
Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, has delivered a biting indictment of the leaders of the tech industry, accusing them of cosying up to President-elect Donald Trump in an effort to influence anti-competitive policies. Concerns over the relationship between big tech and the incoming administration are becoming more prevalent, as evidenced by Sweeney’s remarks posted on the social media site X.
Sweeney’s comments come after a number of significant tech firms, such as Apple and Google, promised to contribute $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. The donation is reportedly being made personally by Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, who has developed a close personal relationship with Trump. Sweeney has called out the hypocrisy of tech leaders who had previously identified with Democratic ideals, highlighting this abrupt change in allegiance.
The criticism from the CEO of Epic Games stems from his continuous disputes with Google and Apple regarding the distribution of smartphone software. Sweeney has long argued in favor of allowing game sales on Android and iPhone devices without requiring users to use the official app stores and payment processing platforms of these industry titans. He contends that the mobile software market is unfairly monopolized by the current system.
The situation in the United States has not changed much, despite Sweeney’s progress in Europe. He declared last year that he would not give up until he had “an ultimate victory” over what he calls Apple and Google’s “totally broken vision for the world.”. “..”.
The apparent shift in the tech sector toward the Trump administration is not just confined to Google and Apple. Additionally, Amazon and Meta have donated millions of dollars to the inauguration. In an apparent attempt to curry favor with the new administration, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, went one step further and loosened Facebook’s content moderation guidelines.
In addition to expressing excitement for the incoming administration, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he would “love to personally congratulate Trump” and promised that the GPU manufacturer would work tirelessly to ensure the success of the new administration.
Even Trump has acknowledged the change in mindset among tech leaders. The president-elect commented on the shift in December, stating, “Everyone was against me during the first term. All the people want to be my friends this term.
There are still worries, though, about how this new partnership between the Trump administration and big tech may affect antitrust enforcement. Trump’s second term is expected to see a softer approach to antitrust cases, according to law firm Skadden, although aggressive antitrust action is unlikely to completely cease.
FTC Chair Lina Khan has stated her hope that upcoming antitrust trials will not result in “sweetheart deals” for firms such as Amazon and Meta. This sentiment emphasizes the continued conflict between regulatory agencies and tech companies, despite the latter’s seeming alignment with the incoming administration.