From Front Row to Hot Seat: What Midterms Mean for Big Tech | TechCrunch

Tech companies seek new ties

In the two years before the midterms, prominent Silicon Valley figures drew closer to President Donald Trump and his administration. Executives attended White House events, some companies reduced diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and some leaders gave millions to super PACs backing Trump and allied candidates.

The industry also benefited from tax breaks, pauses in some federal investigations and looser AI regulation. At the same time, Meta faced lawsuits and billion-dollar fines, while OpenAI faced claims that its technology had harmed users. With Democrats pledging stronger oversight, companies are now seeking to repair relationships across the aisle.

A focus on public image

Just before the elections, OpenAI hired Jessica Schumer, the daughter of Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, and said it would call its data centers “compute campuses.” J.B. Branch of Public Citizen said the industry “realizes they have an optics problem” and described such steps as “PR washing.”

Branch expects more corporate partnerships with public institutions. He cited OpenAI’s partnership with the American Federation of Teachers, Anthropic’s Claude Corps and Meta’s America’s Workforce Academy as examples of activity already underway.

Meta directed TechCrunch to remarks by company president Dina Powell McCormick at WSJ Tech. McCormick said companies need to work with elected governments and be bipartisan to gain support for their plans.

Skepticism and local disputes

Alice Marwick, research director at Data & Society, expects Big Tech to move back toward the political middle, or possibly the left, but said the shift may be too late. She argued companies should focus on making people’s lives better.

Potential conflicts are already emerging around data centers. Moratoriums are gaining traction, and proposed AI regulation bills remain to be drafted. McCormick said communities hosting Meta investments should receive substantial benefits, while communities opposed to them should be able to stop them.

States may drive policy

Political gridlock could limit action in Washington over the next two years. Aryan Ranjan, founder of Baraza, expects much of the activity to take place in states, which have already sued technology companies and enacted regulations.

Ranjan said Democrats may increasingly discuss AI in terms of electricity bills, data-center locations and jobs, reflecting a coalition of newer, working-class voters. Meanwhile, a Trump administration executive order created the AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws, arguing that U.S. companies need room to innovate without burdensome rules.

Several states have still passed laws addressing issues such as chatbots and deepfakes. It remains unclear whether Trump will issue further AI executive orders or veto legislation viewed as anti-AI; the article ends mid-sentence while saying voters want stronger protections.