For Donald Trump, loyalty is the criterion that surpasses all others. The rallying of Mark Zuckerberg, one of the last billionaires in American tech who had until then maintained his distance, was well worth being staged on television.
“Muskification of its platforms,” responded Reporters Without Borders, which was alarmed by “this reinforced policy against the right to information. »
Zuckerberg after Musk, Bezos and the others
“This speech marks a turning point in the digital revolution. This remark is not exaggerated. Facebook was built on the monetization of rage and outrage. As such, the social network has become a powerful bomb for fragmenting democracies. Here he is today who pledges allegiance to an autocratic, unpredictable and hegemonic administration,” summarized digital media expert Frédéric Filloux on his blog.
After Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, SpaceX and online payment Paypal and many others including Tim Cook boss of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg joins the procession of pro-Trump American tech magnates. Entrepreneurs and businessmen whose objective is obviously to make maximum profits from the second presidential term. The MAGA (Make America Great Again) political galaxy and the economic elite of Silicon Valley are forming an alliance with the aim of reshaping both the cultural and regulatory environment in which they operate. This will happen through deregulation. And by all means.
The DSA, the object of all tensions
In September 2024, in the middle of the presidential campaign, a sentence from JD Vance, the future American vice-president, went relatively unnoticed. In this month of January 2025, it takes on its full meaning. Asked about the differences between Elon Musk and his social network Europeans. “What America should be saying is that if NATO wants us to continue supporting the military alliance, why are you not respecting American values and freedom of speech? “. Let us translate the terms of the market: American military protection in exchange for a relaxation of European regulations on digital technology.
Because since December 2023, the American tech giants have been nervous. Brussels has opened an investigation against the former Twitter account. At issue: alleged breaches of European rules on content moderation and transparency, in accordance with the Digital Services Act. The DSA, there it is, the object of all the tensions. Adopted to combat the spread of illicit content online, this regulation requires platforms and engines to take measures to mitigate the risks that arise from the use of their services. Including the dissemination of illicit content such as incitement to hatred or violence, harassment, child pornography or the apology of terrorism. The DSA provides for penalties of up to 6% of the company’s annual income or turnover.
Europe in disarray
Donald Trump elected, the objective of his camp and allies of the “tech right” is to force the EU to drop investigations and regulations. They pose too many risks to the activity and hinder the freedom of innovation of American digital giants. Online commerce, social networks but we must see implicitly the field of Artificial Intelligence. On this last subject among those who whisper in the ear of the future tenant of the White House, Sundar Pichai, the general director of Google.
-The Europeans react in a dispersed manner. First remark: the Internal Market Commissioner, Frenchman Thierry Breton, one of the main promoters of the DSA and Elon Musk’s best European enemy, resigned from the European Commission in September. The head of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, for her part, gave the instruction at the beginning of January “to pause the ongoing investigations against American platforms (investigations which concern in particular Apple, Meta and X, editor’s note), and to do not launch any others,” reports Le Monde.
An attitude not unanimously appreciated. Guest of Radio France on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot adjusted his approach. If the European Commission “does not exercise its powers firmly” to protect public debate online, “it will have to leave States free to take national measures”.
United States: Should we call him “President Musk”?
Should we call him “President Musk” as some of Donald Trump’s opponents already do? The current battle over the American budget in any case confirms the incredible political influence of the multi-billionaire on the Trump presidency, even before it begins.
Cultural battle
And all the while, the offensive continues. In the role of the Trumpist mood agent, the essential Elon Musk. The organization of a “conversation” between Alice Weidel, leader of the German radical organization AfD, with Musk on his X network, on January 9, a few weeks before the February legislative elections across the Rhine, sets the tone.
During the annual conference of ambassadors, Emmanuel Macron commented: “Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new reactionary international and intervene directly in the elections, including in Germany, who would have imagined it? » He could also have looked across the Channel, where Musk is showing his support for Tommy Robinson, an Islamophobic and conspiracy theorist far-right activist.
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