Big Tech’s Shift to the Right
- Human Rights Research Center
- Mar 28
- 8 min read
Author: Suyash Pasi, MA
March 28, 2025
Introduction
Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration was attended by some of the most prominent tech leaders in America, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zukerberg, and Sundar Pichai. Notably, many of these figures expressed ambivalence or even spoke against Trump during his first term. Despite their earlier criticisms, these leaders and their companies, such as Amazon, Meta, and Google, donated millions in support of the event. The implications of this change are profound, impacting not just corporate governance but, technology policy, free speech, and the future of America’s democracy.
Silicon Valley, a region in Northern California, is home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, including Google, Meta, and Tesla. The wealth and influence of Silicon Valley has made its name synonymous with technology hubs worldwide. The region had long been considered a progressive stronghold where diversity and equity flourished, with tech leaders establishing friendly relations with Democrats and generally aligning with their policies. President Barack Obama would visit Silicon Valley and dine with tech CEOs, calling them “champions of change”. However, this changed during President Joe Biden’s term. Silicon Valley faced greater scrutiny from progressive lawmakers over a host of issues, including antitrust enforcement, wealth taxation, and labor rights. Biden brought antitrust cases against Amazon, Google, and large tech companies. The administration also proposed a new tax on unrealised gains on the super rich, like the leaders of Big Tech. These changes, along with a crackdown on cryptocurrency and regulation for AI further pushed tech moguls away from the Democratic Party. Many of the industry's biggest players have found common ground with Republicans, particularly with Donald Trump and his second administration, which has prioritized deregulation and tax cuts for the rich - policies that benefit Big Tech and their leaders.
Silicon Valley has responded in kind, with tech leaders like Elon Musk, along with Benjamin Horowitz, and Marc Andereesen, co-founders of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, contributing millions in Trump’s 2024 campaign. Elon Musk contributed nearly 243 million dollars through his political action committee, America PAC, and an additional 20 million through his trust, totalling nearly 260 million dollars in Trump’s campaign. His contributions dwarfed all individual big tech contributions, including Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, to Kamala’s campaign, reflecting a massive shift within the industry.
Big Tech’s Renunciation of Progressive Policies
One of the most telling signs of Big Tech’s rightward movement is the dismantling of progressive policies, especially its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. However, companies like Walmart and Meta began making subtle cuts to diversity initiatives, cutting DEI staff and eliminating programs designed to increase minority representation in tech.
While the decline in DEI programs began before Trump’s election, the movement has accelerated under President Trump’s second term. Major tech corporations like Google, Meta, and Amazon have all scaled back or discontinued their DEI initiatives, abandoning everything from hiring initiatives and leadership diversity programs to internal training. Google ended its diversity hiring goals in early 2025, a marked departure from the company’s earlier commitments to increasing representation in tech. Meta disbanded key DEI-focused teams, laying off significant portions of its staff while reducing its annual DEI budget. Amazon has similarly pulled back on its DEI commitments, stating the need to wind down “outdated programs and materials”.
While this pullback can be attributed to factors ranging from political pressure to economic concerns, the conservative backlash to DEI has been one of the most significant drivers of this shift. In recent years, right-wing politicians, media figures, and corporate influencers have attacked diversity initiatives, framing them as unnecessary, discriminatory, and harmful to American businesses. Some Republican-led states even enacted laws restricting corporate DEI programs. Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, imposed legal limits on workplace diversity training, arguing that such programs promoted “woke ideology” and unfairly influenced employees. Texas followed suit - passing legislation barring public institutions from creating DEI offices, training, and programs.
Executive action increased exponentially under President Trump, who extended his previous executive order banning federal agencies from conducting diversity and sensitivity training to private companies receiving government contracts. Trump also ordered federal agencies to put employees who work on DEI initiatives on paid leave. The administration also changed federal procurement guidelines, disqualifying businesses that prioritized DEI from government contracts. He also directed all federal agencies to identify publicly-traded companies or other entities that were actively conducting DEI initiatives, threatening legal action.
Another factor that may have influenced Big Tech’s rightward shift is Trump’s promise of tax cuts, deregulation, and business-friendly policies such as rolling back environmental regulations affecting tech data centers, and limiting antitrust enforcement - big incentives for all major corporations. Moreover, on an ideological level, there has been a growing rightward shift amongst the leadership in Silicon Valley. Trump’s aggressive stance against the “woke agenda” resonates with leaders who view progressive culture as a threat to free enterprise and innovation. There is a noticeable increase in right-wing Silicon Valley leaders, who not only favor Trump’s deregulation but also align with his opposition to DEI, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Figures like Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir and PayPal, David Sacks, partner at Craft Ventures, and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, have actively supported conservative candidates like Ron DeSantis and J.D. Vance, promised their support to Donald Trump, and advocated for the free speech absolutism, opposition to progressive ideas, and the dissolution of DEI initiatives. However, the most vocal and visible figure among them is Elon Musk.
Elon Musk’s Right-Wing Turn and Government Influence
Once hailed as a visionary entrepreneur who described himself as "half-Republican, half-Democrat”, Elon has shifted dramatically to the right, supporting the AFD, Germany’s far-right party, amplifying culture war narratives, and signal boosting far-right accounts and conspiracy theories on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Elon first began to shift rightwards during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he openly criticized lockdown measures, vaccine mandates, and other pandemic-related restrictions. He threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters out of California and sued state authorities over the lockdown restrictions. His views continued to shift after acquiring Twitter in 2022, where he radically changed the structure of the company, firing nearly 80% of the staff, severely cutting down the platform’s content moderation policies. He also reinstated far-right figures Nick Fuentes, a far-right white nationalist antisemite, and Andrew Anglin, editor of the Neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. They had previously been banned for spreading hate speech and misinformation.
Elon Musk's tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative, has been marked by aggressive cost-cutting measures and significant restructuring. His team targeted these cuts at agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), most of whose employees were forced to leave under DOGE's directive. Experts have warned that closing USAID would have disastrous consequences globally - severely affecting health initiatives, aid efforts, and economic development programs. Disadvantaged nations, which rely heavily on USAID-funded vaccination programs, maternal health initiatives, and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, would be disproportionately affected - potentially leading to higher mortality rates and an increase in disease outbreaks.
Experts warn about the potential risks associated with inexperienced personnel handling critical government functions, including access to sensitive data systems. DOGE engineers now have access to the Department of Treasury’s payments system and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) network, often with little regard for established security practices. Flaunting established security protocols poses potential cybersecurity risks, leaving critical financial and personnel data vulnerable. The Treasury’s system is responsible for processing government transactions, federal payroll, and military funding, while the OPM manages sensitive information on millions of federal employees. Any security breach in these systems could have devastating consequences.
Conclusion
This shift signals an alarming centralisation of power within the government and private sector. Big Tech companies control social media platforms, computing services, AI, and digital marketplaces, serving as a lynchpin in our modern information environment. This concentration of power, along with the influence of Big Tech’s leaders, raises critical questions about accountability and the guardrails of American democracy. Whether the political realignment of Big Tech shift is temporary or not, the consequences of this ideological pivot will have far reaching consequences.
Glossary
Antitrust – Legislation aimed at preventing or controlling monopolistic practices and promoting market competition.
Big Tech – Referring to the largest and most influential technology companies in the United States, including Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft.
centralisation of power
Cloud computing services – Online platforms that provide storage, processing power, and resources over the internet.
Content moderation – Rules set and enforced by platforms to control and remove dangerous or inappropriate content.
Cryptocurrency - Digital currency that uses cryptography to verify exchange. It is not reliant on the backing of a government or bank to guarantee its value.
Crypto regulation – Legislation aimed at monitoring cryptocurrency operations.
Culture War – An ideological conflict, typically between liberal and conservative groups.
Cybersecurity – Protective measures and policies to prevent threats to digital systems due to hacking, malware, or security breaches.
Deregulation – The reduction or elimination of government oversight and restrictions.
Digital marketplaces – Online platforms where users can buy or sell goods and services.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs – Initiatives aimed at promoting workplace diversity, reducing discrimination, and ensuring equal opportunities.
Dogecoin (DOGE) – Cryptocurrency introduced in December 2023 as a joke, but later used for transactions and investment.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – A temporary government agency created under Elon Musk to reduce spending and restructure federal agencies.
Department of Treasury – The United States federal department responsible for meaning the national treasury and finances of the country.
Executive order – A order issued by the U.S. president that does not require congressional approval.
Far-Right – A political view on the extreme right of the political spectrum - characterised by a belief in authoritarianism, ultra-nationalism, and extreme conservatism.
Federal procurement guidelines – Regulations that govern how government agencies purchase goods and services.
Free speech absolutism – The belief that speech should be entirely unrestricted.
Geopolitical ramifications – Political and economic consequences that impact relationships across countries.
Hate speech – Offensive or harmful speech that targets based on such as race, religion, or gender.
Ideological landscape – The spectrum of political beliefs and viewpoints, usually classified under left and right wing political beliefs.
Lynchpin - Serving as the most important element of a system or organization.
Meritocracy – A system where success and advancement are based on individual ability and achievement.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – A U.S. government agency responsible for managing federal employees and their benefits.
Political action committee (PAC) – An organization that raises and spends money in support of political candidates.
Privatization – The change of ownership of industry from government to private businesses.
Procurement – The process of acquiring goods and services, typically for business purposes.
Publicly traded companies – Businesses whose ownership is organized through shares. These shares are traded to the public in the stock exchange or similar markets.
Renunciation – A rejection of a claim, action, or belief.
Reverse discrimination – The claim that policies designed to promote diversity unfairly disadvantage majority groups.
Silicon Valley – A region in California that is famous for being the global hub for technology and innovation. It is symbolic of the broader tech industry and its economic and cultural influence.
Soft power – The ability of states to influence others through cultural or economic appeal rather than military force.
Treasury Department – A government agency responsible for handling U.S. finances, ranging from printing money, collecting taxes, and managing government spending.
Woke – Being politically aware of social and systematic racism and discrimination.
Woke ideology – A pejorative term used by right-wing political individuals to criticize what they believe to be an excessive focus on identity politics, social justice, and progressive policies in corporations and governments.