Ingram Publishing/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump has been meeting with his political rivals for weeks now as he fills up his cabinet, but now he’s meeting with another group of former would-be foes: tech titans.
The president-elect, who is known for his prolific use of Twitter to disseminate his message, has been at odds with Silicon Valley at various points during the campaign, but there are a number of tech-related issues that he will have to face during his administration.
Here is a rundown of some of the biggest issues on which Trump and his team will likely have to work with the tech giants, some of whom he has personally insulted.
1. Immigration
Though not solely a tech issue, Trump’s plans relating to immigration could have a direct impact on the tech world.
The ability to hire tech-savvy workers or to make contracts with foreign companies with access to cheaper labor costs has become an important building block in the tech world, and the prospect of changing those policies could directly impact the industry’s business practices.
In an open letter that was addressed to Trump and signed by more than 140 tech leaders, they said: “We believe that America’s diversity is our strength. Great ideas come from all parts of society, and we should champion that broad-based creative potential. We also believe that progressive immigration policies help us attract and retain some of the brightest minds on earth — scientists, entrepreneurs, and creator.”
2. Net Neutrality
Net neutrality, the principle that internet providers cannot reduce the speed of internet service for certain content or charge more for access to certain websites, has been one of the issues that the Obama administration championed.
In 2014, Obama and his team pushed to have the Federal Communications Commission include broadband internet service in their classification of a public utility.
Trump spoke out against Obama’s move, calling it an “attack on the internet” in a tweet. Trump appeared to imply that conservative media sites could be unfairly targeted, even though that is the opposite intention of net neutrality.
Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target conservative media.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2014
The open letter from the 140-plus tech leaders also addressed their concerns over his understanding of how the internet works.
“We also believe in the free and open exchange of ideas, including over the Internet, as a seed from which innovation springs. Donald Trump proposes ‘shutting down’ parts of the Internet as a security strategy — demonstrating both poor judgment and ignorance about how technology works,” the letter states.
3. Encryption
The topic of technology encryption came up in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, when Apple refused government calls to unlock the iPhone of one of the shooters.
Trump told his Twitter followers at the time that he would only be using his Samsung phone rather than his iPhone until Apple turned information about the shooter over to authorities, and then later called for a full boycott of all Apple products.
Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
“The phone’s not even owned by this young thug that killed all these people. The phone’s owned by the government, OK. It’s not even his phone,” Trump said at an event in South Carolina in February, referring to the fact that the iPhone was issued by his employer. “But [Apple CEO] Tim Cook is looking to do a big number, probably to show how liberal he is. But Apple should give up, they should get the security or find other people,”
4. Cyber-Security
With the new reports about the role that Russian hacking could have played in the election, the question of cyber-security is emerging as a hot topic in the transition to the new administration.
Trump called for an increase in cyber-security throughout the federal government, but did not specify how that would be tackled.
During the campaign, he said there was a need to “conduct a thorough review of United States cyber-defenses and identify all vulnerabilities. And we have to do that immediately.”
“We will improve the Department of Defense’s cyber-capabilities — a new threat, a new problem, very expensive and we’re not doing very well with cyber,” he said.
5. Tech Manufacturing Relocation
Trump took Apple to task during the campaign for having many of its products made outside of the U.S., and considering his push to bring jobs back stateside, this could be an issue for him to bring to the forefront.
“We’re going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries,” Trump said at a rally in January.
Apple does much of its manufacturing in China.
Bonus: Direct Attacks on Tech CEOs
Trump has not shied away from directly criticizing private companies (such as Boeing) or individuals (such as his attacks against a local union president in Indiana following the Carrier deal), and the same holds true when the two are combined.
During the campaign, Trump connected his unfavorable view of Amazon and The Washington Post — which he had repeatedly called unfair and at one point suspended the press credentials of its reporters to cover his campaign events — through the two companies’ owner, Jeff Bezos.
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
Trump brought his criticism onto the campaign trail as well.
“I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought The Washington Post to have political influence and I’ve gotta tell you — we’ve got a different country than we used to have. … He owns Amazon. He wants political influence so that Amazon will benefit from it. That’s not right. And believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems. They’re going to have such problems,” Trump said at an event in Texas on Feb. 26.
For his part, Bezos responded by posting a video on Twitter saying that he would save him a space on a rocket.
Finally trashed by @realDonaldTrump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. #sendDonaldtospace https://t.co/9OypFoxZk3
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 7, 2015
Another attendee of Trump’s tech summit who has come under fire from the President-elect is Apple CEO Tim Cook, as Trump repeatedly complained over the years that the iPhone should have a bigger screen.
Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave – Apple has lost both vision and momentum – must move fast to get magic back!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2014
In July 2013, in another tweet about how they should have a larger screen, Trump wrote “Bring back Steve Jobs!” Jobs died in October 2011.
When there was speculation that the company would be introducing larger screens, Trump appeared to suggest he should get credit for the move.
I wonder if Apple is upset with me for hounding them to produce a large screen iPhone. I hear they will be doing it soon—long overdue.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2014
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
