Many believe that things in Silicon Valley went as hoped with the Democratic candidate for the presidential elections, as the upper industrial class funded Joe Biden's campaign, and it is likely that many executives in technology companies will assume important positions in the next administration, which indicates the return of the relationship with the devices The state returns to what it was 4 years ago.
But writers Vivek Waddua and Tarun Waddua believe that things will not return to what they were in the past, as the mood and context have completely changed, and the comfortable traditional relationship between the Democratic Party and major technology companies is about to enter a complex phase.
In a report published by the American Foreign Policy magazine, the two authors say that it is possible that the monopoly lawsuit brought by the US Federal Trade Commission and prosecutors in New York and a number of other states against Facebook on December 10 last year. A launchpad for a large-scale campaign against the giants of Silicon Valley, regardless of which party controls the White House.
The major technology companies will face - as the two writers explained - difficult times during the next four years for several reasons:
1. Technology damage
The two authors believe that one of the most important pillars - on which Silicon Valley has relied on over the past years - is leadership in the innovation of new technologies.
Because of these innovations, the public often endured the arrogant rhetoric and attempts to get out of the law, and companies took advantage of this situation to reap huge profits.
But with the repeated failure of social platforms to stop harassment, limit the violation of privacy and the spread of extremist content, the extent of the damage that technology companies can cause, and their unwillingness to rein in their ambitions, has emerged.
2. Lack of confidence
The giants no longer have credibility. Before the 2016 US presidential election campaign, the question was a lot: Will Mark Zuckerberg run for the presidency, but the question that arises now is: How did he manage to keep his position as CEO of Facebook over the past years.
According to the Foreign Policy report, the dreamy rhetoric that Facebook promoted for a whole decade about an open and connected world has now become worthless, and the public has come to see Facebook as just a company hungry to collect data, ensure users are addicted to its products and evade accountability.
Even within the company, surveys show that only half of the workforce believes their services have a positive impact on the world.
Giant technology companies no longer have credibility (networking sites)
3. A bipartisan agreement
One of the few things Democrats and Republicans agree on, these days, is that the tech industry is getting stronger than necessary.
Americans generally view that a company like Amazon has systematically wiped out commerce on the main streets, and that Instagram has captured youthful interest in worrying ways.
Although the services of the giants are still very popular with consumers, concerns are rising about the power and influence that a few billionaires have in Silicon Valley.
Senator Elizabeth Warren - during her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination - declared her desire to dismantle the giant technology companies, and it seems that such a trend is gaining momentum with the passage of time.
4. Repressive practices
Google used to adopt flexible employee policies, but now it looks poised to act tough with anyone it thinks might cause it harm.
Google has sparked controversy during the last period when it expelled the famous researcher in the field of artificial intelligence ethics, Tymnet Gibro, who co-authored a scientific paper warning of the dangers of using facial recognition technology, which is a machine learning technique used by Google on a large scale, and this led to He was fired from her job, sparking a wave of protests inside the company.
As the media exposes such practices, and the public becomes aware of the seriousness of what is happening in Silicon Valley, it is expected that the reactions of employees will escalate in the face of discrimination, prejudice and other repressive practices.
Google raised controversy during the last period when it expelled a famous researcher in the field of ethics of artificial intelligence (Reuters)
5. Left presses
A large percentage of the liberal executive leaders in Silicon Valley began to move strongly to the left, as happened within the Democratic Party, and are adopting issues such as workers' rights, wealth disparity, immigration and justice.
Today's left wing may not tolerate the permissive policy that former President Barack Obama pursued with Google and other giants that have become required to take progressive positions with regard to the workforce.
The escalation of tension during the Trump era has led to the departure of prominent figures, such as investor and entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who said the region was no longer ideologically suited to survive.
6. Public concerns
For a long time, the advantages offered by smartphones, advanced software, and constant connectivity to the network - made the public perceive the cost of those services as not high.
But after nearly a decade of sticking to devices and screens, the fascination seems to be waning and that the digital lifestyle is becoming less attractive than before, being replaced - according to the authors - by fears of loss of privacy and the negative effects of the ongoing network connection.
7. More suits
Giants like Amazon have come to symbolize everything it once stood against, from mistreatment of employees to monopoly and wealth accumulation.
The two authors comment in their report that these problems have escalated much faster than expected.
The Foreign Policy report concludes that the emerging political figures in the American arena may more than likely stand in the way of the major technology companies, and may raise more lawsuits and investigations against them in Congress.