Over the past two years, big tech companies like Apple and Meta have, in various ways, cozied up to Donald Trump's presidential administration, which has adopted a very laissez faire approach to tech regulation. That is almost certain to change, with a post-midterms AI reckoning.
After a staggering Democratic sweep of the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, some of those companies are preparing for what the Washington Post called an "investigative blitz" in its report on the matter. According to the Post's sources, which include congressional staffers, lawyers, and lobbyists, some of the targets of these investigations include Apple, Meta, and Elon Musk's companies.
Wall Street is also anticipating congressional action, with tech stocks (and major indexes) dropping sharply on Thursday following warnings from Democratic senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey.
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On election night, incoming House Oversight Committee chairman issued a very efficient statement on the matter: "Lawyer up."
Massachusetts senator Ed Markey also quipped: "They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing."
According to the Post, the investigations will look into things like the Trump White House using Grok to plan the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. Congress also wants to look into Meta's habit of making local governments sign NDAs related to data center construction, and Apple's relationship to tracking apps used by ICE.
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