Project Syndicate - Resisting American Techno-Fascism

CJL director Courtney Radsch argues that democracies can curb the rise of tech-powered authoritarianism by holding billionaires like Trump and Musk accountable through regulation and antitrust laws.

Big Tech’s massive encroachment upon the levers of state authority under US President Donald Trump is creating a dangerous new power structure – one not confined to its homeland. Trump’s threats against countries – US allies and adversaries alike – that dare to regulate their digital markets and communications systems are not merely a case of economic bullying. Rather, they are an attempt to export this power structure and undermine the rule of law and democratic governance worldwide.

For example, America’s European allies risk tariffs and retaliation for enforcing much-needed digital regulations, as do countries, like the United Kingdom and Brazil, that impose a digital-services tax. But these challenges also create strategic opportunities for democracies. If they collectively refuse to submit to US pressure, it is less likely that any one government will bear the brunt of retaliation. These countries must therefore unite against the tech giants that mine their citizens’ data, control key information and commercial infrastructure, and refuse to pay taxes or even acknowledge the jurisdiction of national governments.

Of course, defending national interests while fostering genuine innovation is a difficult balancing act. But the unprecedented alliance forged between Big Tech and the Trump administration underscores the urgency of this task. As head of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has gained access to government data systems, fired thousands of federal workers, and taken aim at regulatory agencies. Musk has also used the Federal Trade Commission as a cudgel against businesses that are reticent to advertise on his social-media platform X, which he has turned into a megaphone for right-wing extremists and a tool for disinformation and politicalinterference.

Musk is not the only tech boss to have bent the knee. When Mark Zuckerberg announced in January that Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, would end its fact-checking program, he repeated Trump’s talking points. More recently, Instagram concealed results when users searched for “Democrats,” and Facebook amplified posts from Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

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