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Big Tech welcomes its future overlord

Tech CEOs are tripping over themselves to congratulate Donald Trump.

Rani Molla
11/6/24 1:30PM

Big Tech CEOs are out in full force welcoming president-elect Donald Trump, whose administration they’ll have to appease for the next four years. Companies including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple have been under lots of federal scrutiny these past few years as regulators investigate their potentially monopolistic practices. It looks like their leadership is hoping to get on the good side of Trump, who went after Big Tech companies in his first term. His running mate, JD Vance, has suggested he’d like to break up Big Tech companies.

Enter, the Big Tech heads on social media today:

Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg congratulates Donald Trump
Threads

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Cook was the last of the bunch to make a statement, but he and Trump had spoken by phone last month about the iPhone maker’s legal troubles in Europe, according to Trump. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Pichai, and Zuckerberg have also previously been in contact.

Of course, no one beats Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose financial and social overtures helped Trump get elected and could potentially earn him a spot in the government. Musk and Zuckerberg were notably absent among Big Tech CEOs congratulating the previous president, Joe Biden, after his inauguration.

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The DOJ is suing Uber, alleging the company discriminates against passengers with disabilities

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Uber on Thursday, alleging that the company routinely and illegally discriminates against passengers with physical disabilities.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Uber’s drivers regularly refuse service to passengers with service animals and stowable wheelchairs. Some passengers are charged cleaning fees for service animals and cancellation fees after being refused a ride, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, others are insulted or denied requests like sitting in the front seat due to mobility issues.

“Ubers discriminatory conduct has caused significant economic, emotional, and physical harm to individuals with disabilities,” the lawsuit reads.

A survey last year by the organization Guide Dogs for the Blind found that more than 83% of people who are blind or visually impaired said they’ve been denied ride-share service.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Uber disagreed with the lawsuit, saying it has a “zero-tolerance policy for confirmed service denials.”

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Draft Senate bill gives AI companies a two-year pass on federal regulation, Bloomberg reports

Bloomberg reports that a draft bill from Senator Ted Cruz would give AI companies a two-year pass from any federal regulation when they apply to be part of a White House-controlled “regulatory sandbox.” Such a regulatory framework frees participating companies from federal agency oversight while simultaneously handing President Trump broad powers to shape a still nascent and increasingly powerful industry.

The draft bill allows companies approved for the waiver to request renewals for up to eight years, according to the report.

The fast-moving generative-AI boom that took the tech world by storm was kicked off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT less than three years ago. A potential decade free of federal regulations would be a huge win for companies like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon.

In July, the US Senate voted 99-1 to kill a planned provision from President Trump’s massive tax bill that would have prevented any state from regulating AI for 10 years.

The fast-moving generative-AI boom that took the tech world by storm was kicked off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT less than three years ago. A potential decade free of federal regulations would be a huge win for companies like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon.

In July, the US Senate voted 99-1 to kill a planned provision from President Trump’s massive tax bill that would have prevented any state from regulating AI for 10 years.

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Airbus faces a 10-day strike from UK workers, mirroring Boeing’s labor strife

Thousands of UK union Airbus workers plan to strike for 10 days in September amid a contract dispute.

The union workers build wings for Airbus’ commercial jets, threatening a production slowdown for the European plane maker.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

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