Some in Silicon Valley hope Kamala Harris could provide a chance for a reset, after years of bipartisan criticism in Washington, DC, toward Big Tech companies
The key tension is not a stated policy change but whether industry access and donor enthusiasm would alter the trajectory of Washington’s scrutiny. Later coverage records that critics feared those ties could soften Democrats’ aggressive posture toward tech.
First-order effects
Silicon Valley companies and investors gain an incentive to deepen engagement with Harris’s political network, treating her candidacy as a potential opening after sustained bipartisan criticism.
Big Tech critics face a more immediate need to distinguish between pro-innovation industrial policy and weaker enforcement, because the article frames industry expectations around a change in political tone rather than an announced rollback.
Second-order effects
Technology donors and trade groups may concentrate political support and outreach where they believe it can shape the next administration’s priorities, raising the value of established relationships.
A perceived thaw could intensify scrutiny from consumer, labor, and antitrust advocates, who would press for assurances that closer industry ties do not displace the sector’s critics.
Third-order effects
If access to tech leadership becomes a recurring electoral advantage, US technology policy could be shaped increasingly by a tension between industrial-policy partnership and demands for tougher platform oversight.
The durable question is whether bipartisan criticism of Big Tech survives changes in political leadership; the coverage shows that relationships and donor alignment can reshape expectations before formal policy does.
The trend: Big Tech is seeking to convert political relationships and strategic-technology alignment into a more durable reset of its regulatory standing in Washington.
We're in talks with Kamala Harris campaign for her to speak at the conference. Would be very savvy of her to reset the democrat positioning on the fastest growing voter block in the country. They're making up their minds today.
MARK CUBAN SAYS KAMALA HARRIS' CAMP REACHED OUT WITH ‘MULTIPLE QUESTIONS’ ABOUT CRYPTO “I'm getting multiple questions from her camp about crypto,” he said Tuesday. “So I take that as a good sign.” “The feedback I'm getting, but certainly not confirmed by the VP, is that she
There is a very real possibility that come mid-September a lot of Silicon Valley billionaires comes back to Kamala Harris with their tails between their legs.
Kamala Harris is generally friendly to Silicon Valley and related sectors. She's prosecuted lawbreakers but also supports tech, crypto, and ‘green’ energy. Musk loses by flatly opposing her since maintaining subsidies and partnerships is more crucial than minor personal taxes. 🤷…
A lot has changed in 48 hours. There's a real momentum shift in Silicon Valley. It's worth being cautiously optimistic, but Harris has a clear opening to drive a more pro business, pro tech, and less chaotic platform that works for the 21st century than the alternative path.
A bit that didn't make it into the final product: A few energy folks I talked to said there's a case to be made that a Harris first term would be LESS harsh on fossil fuels than what a second Biden term might have brought.
“At least you know where Donald Trump stands,” said @Sen_JoeManchin, the WV Democrat-turned-independent who had flirted for several hours with the idea of challenging Harris and suggested the vice president was both “too far to the left” and also some kind of a blank slate
Mark Cuban on Kamala Harris: “...she will be far more open to business, [artificial intelligence], crypto and government as a service...” https://www.politico.com/... via @politico
never gonna flip to a California Democrat without getting a Silicon Valley pivot I'm not sure this really plays as her median voter pivot tho? Gonna need to figure out a whole ton of complicated messaging / policy issues so fast here.
In fact, representing the United States in London last year at a global convening on the future of technology, Harris elevated the immediate harms of AI and its propensity to exacerbate existing biases on race, gender, age, and more. https://www.nytimes.com/...
.@mcuban on Harris: “The feedback I'm getting, but certainly not confirmed by the VP, is that she will be far more open to business, [artificial intelligence], crypto and government as a service.” (Reporting by @Eleanor_Mueller) https://www.politico.com/...
As VP, Kamala Harris has fully supported the Biden administration's efforts to ensure responsible development and deployment of new AI technology, including the @WHOSTP's AI Bill of Rights and the Executive Order on AI released last year.
Washington's most powerful interests have had decades to learn what makes Joe Biden tick. Kamala Harris' quick rise has them worrying whether they'll get Biden 2.0, a tack to the left or something else entirely. An all-hands-on-deck policy team effort —> https://www.politico.com/…
Interesting to watch how Silicon Valley civil war reflects in who is in the @JDVance1 camp vs. @KamalaHarris ... what this says about Valley dynamics. Pinging @thatchriskelly for any thought? @Nombe is also on the ground ...
Many are assuming a President Harris would follow the typical path of a California politician once elected to national office - willing to go light on Silicon Valley and emerging industries like generative AI and Crypto. Here's why that's wrong 1/ https://www.politico.com/...