Reclaim the Net – by Dan Frieth
Employees at Big Tech companies were among the largest contributors to Joe Biden’s campaign, according to analysis of campaign finance reports by the Wall Street Journal.
In contrast, the largest source of funding to Trump’s campaign from corporate employees does not include any tech platform company.
According to the WSJ analysis, employees of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook were the five largest sources of funds for the Biden campaign. Employees at the five behemoth tech firms contributed at least $15.1 million.
For the Trump campaign, the five top sources of money from corporate employees were workers at American Airlines, Boeing, Bank of America, Lockheed Martin, and Wells Fargo. The analysis shows the disconnect between tech platforms and the Republican Party, which has long accused social media companies of biased censorship against conservative views.
“There is a disconnect between the tech industry and many Republicans, said former RNC spokesperson, Doug Heye. “We don’t like Silicon Valley —and they don’t like us.”
The WSJ also notes that former Democratic Party presidential candidates also received significant funding from Big Tech employees, but their top sources of money extended beyond the tech sector.
Corporations are prohibited from contributing to the campaigns of their favorite candidates. However, their employees are allowed to fund campaigns and even form joint fundraising committees. In the last election, individuals were allowed to contribute as much as $2,800.
The findings put Facebook and Google’s denial that the political leanings of their employees affects their services in doubt.
Despite Big Tech platforms’ apparent support for the Democratic Party, a significant number of Democrats blame tech platforms for allowing the spread of alleged misinformation. Currently, there are several bipartisan efforts to limit the freedoms tech platforms enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Even Biden has hinted that he supports the revision of Section 230.