Washington is preparing to welcome Donald Trump for his second term as President of the United States in January. For those of us who work in technology and innovation policy, there are a few key issues where the President Elect has signaled that he wants to improve from President Biden’s misguided approach to technology.
The Biden administration couldn’t have been much worse for innovation and entrepreneurialism. The President chose to wield his bureaucrats as a “whole-of-government strike force” (his own terms) against business growth and the freedom to create and succeed. His radical administration held the view that if a company or entrepreneur it didn’t like was too good at gaining and retaining consumers, it deserved aggressive scrutiny and even potential destruction. President Biden’s approach harmed the U.S. economy.
The American people resoundingly rejected that approach on Tuesday.
Going forward, President Trump has raised some key policies that demonstrate leadership on tech in his second term: (1) rolling back the damage from the last administrative state; (2) a positive view of American creativity and success; and (3) a willing attitude to lead America into the future of technological progress—rather than allowing us to be left behind foreign competitors that don’t share our values of freedom and democracy.
Shattering the Shackles of the Administrative State on America
During his first term, President Trump instated a “one in two out” rule for new regulations. This was one of the best policies he implemented for economic growth. During President Trump’s second administration, it is likely he will reinstate similar measures.
Deregulatory efforts will be bolstered by the Supreme Court’s ruling this year in Loper-Bright v. Raimondo, where the Court declared the Chevron doctrine unconstitutional. Simplified, this prior rule allowed federal bureaucrats—who are unelected and unaccountable to the American people—to write regulations rather than Congress. This ruling matters because it makes clear that the constitutional mandate is for Congress—not the Executive Branch or the once-emerging “Fourth Branch”—to write laws. It is also an important restoration of the balance of power and accountability of the government for the regulations they implement directly to Americans. A Trump administration overseeing the implementation of this ruling is much more likely to take a measured approach than a Harris administration, considering the blatant disregard for the Court we saw under President Biden.
A Positive View of American Success
A growing goal for many on the Left is focused on control, like giving the government the power to control online speech, which is antithetical to the American spirit. Walter Russell Mead put it better in The Wall Street Journal this week than I ever could:
“The secret to American success has never been the excellence of our technocrats, the honesty and transparency of our political system, or the sleek efficiency of our governing machine. It is the vigor and drive of a turbulent, nearly ungovernable society that pushes us ahead.” —Walter Russell Mead
The Biden administration embraced a spirit of control rather than one of thriving creativity. As noted above, it wielded its power through various bureaucrats at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to stifle growth, punish success and intimidate businesses into following the government’s bidding—or face its wrath. Government has unilateral power to open the door to create and to destroy. Biden nominated officials that sought a path of destruction, and it harmed Americans and our businesses in real time.
Instead of taking the opportunity to distance herself from this on the campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris said she wouldn’t have done a thing differently: “There is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of – and I’ve been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact, the work that we have done.” Americans were not having any of it.
Embracing American success and being proud that the world’s greatest businesses are built and based here is a good thing. Departing from President Biden’s negative approach has a strong promise for hope.
Build, Baby, Build: A Readiness to Move Forward on Innovation
America is blessed to be the home of the world’s greatest innovators. This achievement isn’t by mistake—it’s by design. At the advent of the 20th century technological revolution, U.S. leaders chose to open the door for what scholar Adam Thierer popularized as “permissionless innovation,” and this approach has allowed us to thrive—especially when compared to our counterparts in places like Europe.
Technology policy in the U.S. today, however, is by no means so simple. But President Trump during his first term was much more open to new innovations than President Biden, and entrepreneurs with creative ideas should be optimistic about the coming changes.
For one, President Trump has been consistently good on policymaking for artificial intelligence (AI). In his 2019 executive order, “Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” his administration sought to “reduce barriers to the use of AI technologies in order to promote their innovative application while protecting civil liberties, privacy, American values, and United States economic and national security.” This more balanced approach to AI policymaking seeks to identify and curb unique harms to Americans that come from AI while ensuring that creators are not unduly stifled by complex, burdensome red tape is one that NetChoice strongly supports.
Conversely, the Biden administration issued what NetChoice dubbed to be an “AI Red Tape Wishlist” in 2023. This executive order was a backdoor attempt to expand government control over the economy, using AI as a pretext. Rather than seeking to understand and leverage existing rules that govern bad actors abusing AI tools to harm Americans, it added unnecessary complexity to federal rules which make it harder and more expensive for small businesses and startups to comply.
In the 2024 GOP platform, President Biden’s executive order on AI was explicitly criticized and described as “dangerous.” The platform pledged to repeal it and return to the principle that innovation is critical to maintain American leadership in emerging technologies and ignite our competitiveness, particularly against foreign adversaries like China. Various conservatives leaders in Congress like Sen. Ted Cruz, Congressman Steve Scalise and more have also expressed positive attitudes toward innovation, and that is very commendable.
Looking ahead, while there are still many uncertainties about what the second Trump administration will look like, innovators and creators in America have reasons to be hopeful for the future so we can propel forward and maintain our global leadership in technology.