President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Matt Gaetz as Attorney General and Brendan Carr to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), figures who have been frequent critics of big tech companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft.

Brendan Carr

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President Trump picks Brendan Carr to head the FCC. Photo: Sipa USA

Carr calls some of the biggest tech companies “censorship organizations.” He has served on the FCC and believes the agency should take the lead in eliminating Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet companies from liability for the content their users post.

An ally of Elon Musk, Carr recently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing the FCC for revoking $885 million in funding for the Starlink satellite internet service. It seems likely that Carr will use his new power to try to bolster Starlink as well as Kuiper.

He also supports banning TikTok, a policy that Trump himself pursued during his first term. It is unclear how the new Trump administration will handle TikTok as the deadline approaches for the company to sever ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

Matt Gaetz

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Mr. Trump nominated Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General. Photo: CQ Roll Call

Former congressman Matt Gaetz has been critical of Big Tech for years. In 2021, shortly after Trump was banned from social media over his involvement in the Capitol riots, he argued that tech companies were stifling Americans’ freedom of speech.

Gaetz also called for tougher antitrust enforcement, a stance similar to that of current FCC Chair Lina Khan.

As a member of Congress in 2020, he tried to pass a package of bills that would have been one of the biggest changes to antitrust in decades.

During a 2023 House Judiciary Committee hearing, Gaetz expressed concerns about Google's monopoly power and encouraged Jonathan Kanter, the assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division, to continue pursuing cases like Google's.

Elon Musk

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Elon Musk was invited to head the Ministry of Government Efficiency. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk is being targeted by Trump for the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk is both a tech leader and a prominent critic. He often uses his influence at X to attack rivals like Google. For example, he has suggested that Google was involved in election interference and banned Trump search results.

The billionaire has also been at odds with Apple and CEO Tim Cook. Earlier this year, he threatened to ban all Apple devices from his companies after the iPhone maker announced a partnership with OpenAI, the startup he co-founded.

JD Vance

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JD Vance, who was chosen by Mr. Trump to be the Vice President of the United States. Photo: Moneymaker

JD Vance, Trump’s pick for vice president, has long wanted to break up Big Tech. He said his experiences in Silicon Valley taught him to be wary. He singled out Facebook and Apple in particular because their businesses rely on keeping users glued to screens filled with ads.

He called tech companies “parasites” on the economy. He called for Google to be broken up and praised FCC Chair Lina Khan. He also campaigned to repeal Section 230.

(According to Insider)