Donald Trump renames the Gulf of Mexico in the Gulf of the United States? The news may seem wacky. But a powerful actor will obediently display this modification on his card consulted by tens of millions of Internet users every day to move around the world. His name: Google. This is one of the last effects of the merger between the American Big Tech and Donald Trump. There are several per week currently, since its election last November. And the most important, even.
Fact-checking abandoned by Meta on his social networks to be in line with the Republican, to the announcement by the new administration of the mega industrial project Stargate on AI, with more than $ 500 billion. This love story had started long before the election. Marietje Schaake had seen him coming. In his book, The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valleythe former European deputy who now officiates at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, described how technological companies took political power in the United States. His concerns, formulated at L’Express before the election, is confirmed today. And they have consequences far beyond the country of Uncle Sam. Europe is on the front line. Interview.
L’Express: The alliance of American tech with the Trump administration is almost complete. Personalities that we imagined more discreet in their support like Mark Zuckerberg are ultimately very demonstrative in their support for the Republican. Even Sam Altmanmain beneficiary of Stargate, today dresses the new president. You had predicted it, in your work. Did you imagine, however, that the phenomenon was going to be so fast and massive?
Marietje Schaake: You can never be really sure. But this association with political power is the second phase of the “blow” whose contours I sampled in my book. And it is particularly visible today. This confirms in my opinion the initial postulate: tech magnates have a lot of power. Because of the companies they direct, their gigantic stock market capitalizations, their weights in the development of critical infrastructure such as satellites, data centers, nuclear power plants, as well as in technologies transforming our reality such as AI generative or facial recognition systems, they have already replaced the State to some extent. The moment we are going through is decisive, but it would be a mistake to think so only because Elon Musk and Donald Trump have become allies.
Is entrusting part of their future to someone so erratic a risk for American tech?
Yes, we saw this temperament through the Tiktok case. An application capable today of saying “thank you, Mr. Trump”, while the latter had initially decided to ban it … For large companies, especially technological, the temptation has always existed to get closer to those in power. Question of opportunism. It works well with Trump. But this relationship between tech and politics, as mutually beneficial as it may seem at the moment, is double -edged. Not all companies will have access to the White House, and those which will be dismissed will not be in agreement with the decisions which will be taken, or will not feel properly represented. Tensions have already been felt between Elon Musk and Sam Altman about AI, the first not appearing in the Stargate project. It is a safe bet that they will spread beyond, throughout the “business” community, against a background of jealousy. A territory battle could oppose conventional tech companies to those focused on AI. I am convinced that there will be a lot of melodramas in the future.
You mention, Elon Musk, he is distinguished by major interests of interest …
It is one of the big problems. Elon Musk enjoys through his businesses as SpaceX of a number of government contracts. In parallel, federal surveys have been opened against its societies [NDLR : SpaceX, mais également Tesla ou Twitter devenu X]. But, still at the same time, he advises the president on international policy, trade, directs the Department of Government Effectiveness, while continuing its activities as an entrepreneur. The government no longer provides useful counterpowers. Which brings us, under this double leadership, to a new type of confrontation as a European with the United States.
For what ?
Because Musk also explicitly supports anti-democratic forces, especially in Germany. He devotes himself to “Nazi greetings”. He is also close to Peter Thiel [NDLR : le CEO de Palantir Technologies et fondateur de PayPal]a very powerful shadow man who long defends a very anti-state position. Finally, it is necessary to take into account the support of the cryptography sector at the Musk-Trump duo. A particularly enthusiastic industry with the idea of seeing alternative jurisdictions, opposed to states and the financial system as we know it. They are therefore very high battles that do not support in any case strengthen the rule of law. It is a very dark era for those of us who care about democracy, including Europe.
What have we collectively missed to arrive at this stage?
We have underestimated the excessive power of technological companies. I think that for a long time, the idea prevailed that they strengthened democracy. They have been treated with a lot of indifference, which left them a great room for maneuver to make their own decisions. Today, we note that they are not interested in the defense of democratic values. Only by their markets and the maximization of their power. We will attend a more direct confrontation with democratic regimes, which is, of course, very worrying because of the vast powers that tech giants now have in their hands.
“” ““Europe has a problem of fragmentation”»
American companies have recently put pressure on Europe. More particularly social media platforms, Meta and X, at war against DSA, the regulations on digital services … How should it react?
The European Commission should do everything in its power to force these companies to show its recommendation algorithms, which define which content is sent to which users. This is a first step: after all, what can they hide? However, the moderation aspect will not be enough. The most important today for the EU is to double its investments in infrastructure, especially digital. Finally, there is the lever for public procurement, as governments are often the main customers of technological companies. European leaders therefore have enormous power, not only through regulations, but also by their purchases.
And I think that, combined with investments, will facilitate the application of existing laws which will undoubtedly be subject to pressures. We really need to act in “crisis” mode in order to make unprecedented adjustments. Because if a trade war takes shape, Europe must have a solid spine so as not to give up applying its legislation. For the time being, she does not have one. On the one hand, there is the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a firmly convinced man that technological companies represent a threat to our democracies. And then, on the other, a leader like the Italian Giorgia Meloni, about to conclude an agreement with Elon Musk. Or a French president, Emmanuel Macron, who questions certain components of Act. Which seems counterproductive to me for a “pro-European” such as him.
The famous “Brussels Effect”, this dissemination of European regulation beyond its borders and particularly in the United States, dead?
It’s still early to say. European laws, on digital, are young and have not yet proven their full value. It will also depend on new alliances potentially concluded by the European Union on a global scale, with countries more inclined to accept this type of rules, based on democratic values. But it is obvious that this “Brussels effect” in the transatlantic relationship that we have with the United States, the most important since the Second World War, is undermined by this collusion between technological companies and the Trumpist power.
Can individual behaviors have effects? In Europe, and in particular in France, an exodus of X is underway. Which could ultimately mean a loss of influence of the platform, and its leader Elon Musk…
Individual choices can of course have an influence. If some Tesla shareholders are really unhappy with “Nazi salvation” utter by Musk, there may be consequences. Regarding X, people of course decide themselves where they want to spend their time and spend their money. But basically, I do not think that individuals are sufficiently empowered, informed, and that they can counterbalance this disproportionate power. We also know the powerful impact of network effects on online platforms. This is why I rather recommend other counterpowers: regulation, investment and therefore, new alliances for Europe.
.