A Biden presidency will put the tech industry on more stable ground than it's had with President Trump. Although Biden is unlikely to rein in those Democrats who are itching to regulate the big platforms, he'll almost certainly have other, bigger priorities.
Democrats familiar with the Biden campaign's work on tech made these predictions...
- Any early tech policy initiatives will be wrapped up in crisis response, such as an early push to close the "digital divide" — a lifeline for the shelter-in-place era.
- Don't expect an aggressive tech policy agenda from Biden's constellation of mostly Obama administration tech policy veterans. But Biden will inherit the Trump Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Google, and even mainstream Democrats now agree there are competition problems at the top of Silicon Valley. Expect that case to live on, along with broader antitrust scrutiny of Big Tech.
- Once in office, Biden would take cues from the party, especially on ending online platforms' immunity from liability over material their users post. While there's bipartisan interest in revisiting the issue, changing the law requires an act of Congress.
- One person to watch: Mignon Clyburn, an Obama appointee to the Federal Communications Commission who left the agency in 2018. She has a strong relationship with many in the Biden campaign orbit and is favored to be his FCC chair unless she turns it down.
The bottom line: The tech industry can probably breathe a sigh of relief during Biden's first 100 days. But the industry will still face an administration shaped by a Democratic establishment that's increasingly hostile toward Big Tech.Our thought bubble from Scott Rosenberg: Aggravated red state/blue state grievances could usher in an open-ended era of partisan trench warfare online — but a split Congress shrinks the likelihood of new laws reining in tech's power.
- Go deeper: How the razor-edge election could scar tech.
