Trump’s inauguration happened on Monday, and even though he claims to be representing hardworking people, those weren’t the ones sitting beside him. No, it was the tech billionaires who donated millions to secure his reelection. Front and center, while some governors were pushed off to an overflow room, were the CEOs of the world’s most powerful tech firms.
An Inauguration For The 1%
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, and Trump mega-donor Elon Musk all had prime seats in the inaugural lineup. Apple’s Tim Cook and Google co-founder Sergey Brin were also among the crew, though seated further back in the rotunda.
Their presence at the center of power isn’t an accident—it’s a reflection of a tech oligarchy that’s reshaping the political landscape to serve the interests of the few at the expense of everyone else.
For all that was left unsaid during Biden’s farewell address last week, one warning rings true: The shadowy rise of a tech oligarchy that’s making life worse for everyone. It’s blurring the lines between corporations and the state, and concentrating unchecked power in ways we’ve never seen before. The billionaires behind Big Tech– Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and their crew of wannabe overlords– once sold us on the idea that they were here to “save the world.”
Take one look around now, and it’s clear that’s a lie. They’re not shaping the future. They’re rigging it in their favor and making the rest of us pay the price.
These tech bros have turned Silicon Valley into everything it was meant to disrupt. What was once hyped as a hub of innovation and progress is now the engine driving us deeper towards destruction powered by corporate greed, mass exploitation, and control. The tech world once promised us connection, entertainment, and bold solutions to the biggest problems we face. Instead, it delivered environmental catastrophe, an expanded surveillance state, and political polarization. The progressive branding of the early days– think nap pods and free kombucha on Google campuses– has given way to something much darker: amplifying far-right conspiracy theories, hoarding obscene wealth, and using their platforms to manipulate everything from elections to public opinion.
But that’s hardly anything new. From the start, they were empty promises, and we only need to look at the gentrification in the Bay Area, the displacement of working-class communities, skyrocketing housing costs, and their reliance on exploitative gig labor to see it.
The Effects of Tech-led Authoritarianism
We’ve known the damage they’re doing is personal. It’s our data they’re mining and selling to the highest bidder, tracking every click, every message, every move. It’s our land they’re tearing apart to extract rare metals for their devices and train their AI. It’s our communities they’re ripping apart, weaponizing algorithms to spread misinformation, amplify hate, and pit us against each other.
It’s time to call it what it is: a tech oligarchy, built on stolen resources, unchecked profits, and the abuse of power. These billionaires aren’t here to save the world– they’re here to control it. And all at the expense of the safety of our planet, the security of our data, and el Buenvivir of our gente.
But while tech titans and Big Tech seek to dominate us and keep us down, our communities have always resisted. We’ve fought back against every system designed to exploit and divide us, and we’ll fight this wave too. We’ve been here before, and under a second Trump presidency, we know the stakes will only get higher. We know their playbook: divide, exploit, profit. But we know ours, too: organize, resist, and build the future we deserve.
Still, it’s worth asking—¿Cómo llegamos aquí? The creeping consolidation of power between Big Tech and authoritarian politics didn’t happen overnight. It’s been years in the making, but the shift became impossible to ignore when Elon Musk took over X (formerly Twitter). His take over of the platform turned into a case study in corporate overreach and political censorship. From the beginning, it was clear that Musk’s self-proclaimed commitment to “free speech” was always a facade. Musk masked his willingness to silence critics, amplify far-right conspiracy theories, ban outspoken journalists, and weaponize his platform to serve his own agenda.
Social Media, Conservative Shifts, and the Power of Profits
Fast forward to now, and it’s not just about Elon Musk retweeting cringey memes anymore. The harm has grown, and his playbook is spreading. Meta just announced it’s shutting down its fact-checking system in favor of a “community notes” system, copying Musk’s X. Zuckerberg even called the past election a “cultural tipping point” as he rolled out policy changes only making it easier for disinformation to thrive.
More boldly, TikTok, the same app Trump’s administration previously tried to ban, is now singing his praises. In a statement, TikTok credited Trump for “clarity” that allowed the app to stay in the U.S., calling it a win for the First Amendment and pledging to work with him on a longer-term plan. Users checking out their FYP post-ban were also hit with a pop-up message straight-up thanking Trump for “restoring” the app.
As Trump was leaving a press conference held in the White House on Wednesday outlining the slew of executive orders he’d signed, a reporter asked him about TikTok. Trump casually mentioned he would be open to Elon Musk buying the app. On his way out, he was asked if he had the app downloaded on his own phone. He paused briefly before replying, “No, but I’m going to do it right now.” At the door, he couldn’t resist tossing in a boast: “Again, by the way, we won the young vote. I think I won it through TikTok. So I have a very warm spot in my heart for TikTok.” (Unsurprisingly, he didn’t win the youth vote. Harris beat him among under-30 voters by 51 to 47 percent.)
We’re in a whole new reality now. It’s not just tech companies bending to authoritarian pressure. They’re aligning with it, and praising it.
The Climate Consequences of AI
With prime seats at the inauguration, talking slots that included Musk giving a blatant Nazi salute, and their agenda echoed across the national stage, it’s clear their investments are paying off in full.
And we’re paying the price for harms that go far beyond the White House: look no further than artificial intelligence and the expansion of the surveillance state. Big Tech’s AI is accelerating the climate crisis, disproportionately harming vulnerable communities. And this is especially true for people of color, who already bear the brunt of climate-related disasters.
Behind these shiny promises of innovation lie devastating environmental costs. AI’s data centers consume massive amounts of water and electricity, nine times out of ten extracted from areas already facing resource scarcity. Cooling these centers requires millions of gallons of water, depleting drought-stricken regions and destabilizing ecosystems. Meanwhile, the energy demands to train AI models are driving up emissions at rates we’ve never seen before, making companies like Google and Microsoft major contributors to climate change.
And like always, it’s the communities most at risk– low-income neighborhoods, Indigenous stewards of these lands, and entire communities of color– that are paying the highest price.
As Big Tech accelerates environmental destruction, it’s also deepening its hold on us through the expansion of the surveillance state. Companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and X have built their empires on surveillance capitalism, turning our personal data into their most profitable asset. Every interaction– every search, click, or message– is tracked, analyzed, and sold.
While U.S. lawmakers sat in hearings and demonized TikTok as a national security threat, companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon continue to exploit user data on a far greater scale– often with very little regulation or oversight. The xenophobia (think this exchange between Senator Tom Cotton and TikTok CEO Shou Chew) driving the discussion around a TikTok ban conveniently ignores that these same practices are the exact core of the business models of American tech companies.
The Growth of the Tech-Driven Surveillance State
It’s not enough that they extract our data, either— they’re literally weaponizing it against us. Surveillance tools like facial recognition software like that of Clearview AI are paying out millions in settlements for building illegal databases using our images without our consent. Amazon’s Ring has created the largest civilian surveillance network in U.S. history, granting law enforcement warrantless access to footage and turning neighborhoods into surveillance zones. Even tech marketed for “public safety”, like ShotSpotter, has led to false arrests and unconstitutional police actions. This relentless monitoring suppresses dissent, fuels systemic oppression, and normalizes a world where our privacy doesn’t exist in the way we once understood it.
Big Tech’s influence may feel like way too much for one person to take on. That’s because it is. Not in an inevitable way, but in a way that grounds us in the truth that we’ve always been in la lucha juntes, and that we’re stronger when we come together. Our communities have always found ways to fight back, exposing the harms, building coalitions, and demanding change. When companies like Amazon and Palantir fueled ICE’s deportation machine, Mijente’s No Tech for ICE campaign called out their role in automating harm, sparking a movement to hold them accountable.
Through our joint report with Just Futures Law, Automating Deportation, we’ve shown how AI and surveillance tools are weaponized against immigrant communities— and we’ve continued to push back. Our shared wins go beyond education, too. In Chicago, local organizers proved what’s possible, successfully ending the city’s contract with ShotSpotter through coalition organizing. And just last year, we convened hundreds of compas from across the country to deepen our strategies and connections for our second Take Back Tech.
These victories remind us that resistance works. For every tool of oppression that they try and wield against us, we’re ready to find a way to educate, mobilize, and fight back.
Stay Presente and Ready for What Comes Next
If you spent any time scrolling through your socials on inauguration day, then one painful truth likely cut through the noise: The next four years are going to test us like never before. The rise of Big Tech’s authoritarian alliance, enabled by Trump’s return and the ascension of the MAGA movement, is a chilling reminder of how much is at stake, for our planet, our privacy, and our communities.
But if there’s one thing our history has shown us, it’s that we know how to fight back. We’ve resisted deportation machines, exposed surveillance contracts, and united hundreds of our gente to address the harms of Big Tech’s unchecked power. These fights weren’t easy, and the road ahead won’t be either. We’ve never backed down, and we’re not starting now.
Carolina Mendez is a Chicana organizer from Anaheim, CA, committed to building power within her community and beyond. As Mijente’s Digital Organizer, she’s driven by her passion for organizing alongside her gente to create a just future and achieve el Buenvivir for all.