Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election

SAN FRANCISCO: Fiercely against social media platform TikTok, cryptocurrency bitcoin and electric cars during his presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has recently flip-flopped on several issues that are dear to Silicon Valley.

The presidential hopeful has, however, remained steadfast in some areas that are likely to be of concern to major US tech companies. Here is a rundown of Trump’s latest policy stance on five major tech sector issues.

Electric vehicles

“I love Elon Musk, I love him,” Trump shouted Saturday during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a state that is home to many US automakers.

That statement came after reports that Musk had pledged to donate $45 million monthly to the Republican after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt -- reports Musk later denied.

Trump has, however, spent years ridiculing electric cars, bashing them as too expensive and impractical, and denying climate change concerns that have driven demand for them.

“I’m constantly talking about electric vehicles, but I don’t mean I’m against them; I’m all for them,” he said, adding that the cars are not for everyone.

If elected, however, Trump has said he wants to end federal subsidies that encourage buying electric cars.

The move is not likely to hurt Tesla, some of whose models are not eligible for the rebates, but would hit its US competitors.

TikTok

Trump tried in vain to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok on national security grounds during his presidency, and spoke out against China routinely during his failed bid for reelection in 2020.

Trump expressed concerns -- echoed by political rivals -- that the Chinese government might tap into US TikTok users’ data or manipulate what they see on the platform.

He even called for a US company to buy TikTok, with the government sharing in the sale price.

Now that US President Joe Biden’s administration has signed a law to ban the app for the same reasons, unless it is sold, Trump has reversed course.

“Now (that) I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition,” he recently told Bloomberg.

“If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram -- and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg.”

Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and part of his Meta tech empire, was among the social media networks that banned Trump after attacks on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, driven by concerns that he would use the platform to promote more violence.