Democrats offer predictions for Biden's tech policies: nothing too aggressive initially, but the relationship is likely to be less cozy than with Obama
Kyle Daly / Axios : Tweets: @brad_polumbo and @thetoddschulte Tweets: @brad_polumbo : lol Biden supporting section 230 repeal, aka the end of social media, is just a casual one-liner in this puff piece for his campaign https://www.axios.com/... Todd Schulte / @thetoddschulte : I can't speak to a bunch of this, but as currently the Trump administration has effectively ended the vast majority of the immigration system, there will need to be aggressive, comprehensive action on immigration right away. This elides that a bit. https://www.axios.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
This pre-election Axios piece captures Democrats hedging their own expectations: tech policy under Biden would start modest, but the White House would be 'less cozy' with the industry than Obama's was. That framing matters because Biden had already broken from the Obama-era stance himself — his campaign reaffirmed its support for repealing Section 230, arguing only that his version would push platforms toward more moderation rather than Trump's less.
First-order effects
- Large platforms' Washington operations now plan for a White House that takes their support for granted rather than courting them — the access-driven relationship of the Obama years is the explicit baseline Democrats say will not return.
- Section 230 stays contested from both directions: Biden backs repeal while opposing Trump's executive-order approach, so platforms face pressure over moderation policy whichever way the politics break.
Second-order effects
- Once Biden won, the priority list reshuffled exactly as predicted — reporting after the election flagged net neutrality and reversing Trump's immigration orders as early moves, with Section 230 reform possibly deprioritized and antitrust left undefined, moving the real fight to how aggressively agencies pursue the largest firms.
- An undefined antitrust posture leaves platform mergers, acquisitions, and conduct decisions unpriced for the companies involved until an enforcement philosophy emerges.
Third-order effects
- If the 'less cozy' prediction holds, both parties end up competing on who polices big tech harder, converting the dispute from whether to regulate platforms to which direction moderation rules should push — more removal versus less.
- Tech veterans filling administration jobs no longer signal deference: later coverage of appointments and personnel moves pointed toward a tougher line than any predecessor, suggesting insider knowledge translates into sharper oversight rather than softer treatment.
The trend: US tech policy is converging across both parties toward active scrutiny of large platforms, with the Obama-era accommodation giving way to a contest over who regulates them and in which direction.