By Ernesto Ángeles. SPR Informa. Mexican Press Agency.
A week ago, news broke that Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify—the world’s most famous music app—had decided to invest around 600 million euros in a German company called Helsing, which is dedicated to the security and development of military artificial intelligence. This sparked various criticisms and indignation from customers and some artists. However, beyond the surprise, this investment aligns with an increasingly widespread, promoted, and cynically celebrated trend, namely the fusion of the tech market with the military apparatuses of their respective countries, especially in the United States and Europe, where the supposed separation of the private sector and the military was once promoted as a guarantee of privacy and stability.
Although under administrations prior to Donald Trump, the U.S. government and companies had a fairly close relationship, Trump’s second term is characterized by a strong convergence of interests and projects under a government that promotes deregulation and protects corporate interests in exchange for access to technological capabilities to use in its political projects and vision of the nation—with all the negative consequences this entails.
Moreover, today the United States cannot do without major tech companies in its complex military and national security system, since these firms control crucial infrastructure and tools—cloud computing, AI algorithms for image/sound recognition, behavioral analysis and target selection, even weaponry—which are essential for monitoring adversaries (and even allies), as well as preparing for various war and security scenarios. At the same time, large social media and media platforms serve to shape political consensus and influence public opinion inside and outside the United States, becoming propaganda tools favorable to the government and its economic, political, and cultural agenda.
Therefore, the collusion between the Trump administration (authoritarian populism) and the tech entrepreneurs (tech oligopoly) represents a historic threat. Never before has any company simultaneously controlled information flows, digital infrastructure, parts of production chains, and political power levers in Washington—undermining the separation of powers and democratic order itself in the process.
In this alliance, President Trump has developed a strategy that rewards his corporate benefactors and punishes regulators, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the United States. Meanwhile, tech oligarchs use their global platforms to reinforce U.S. military capabilities and promote the Trump agenda—all in the name of “efficiency” and “freedom of expression.” This creates a dangerous, vicious cycle for democracy, as the more political influence tech oligarchs gain, the fewer democratic and institutional controls remain to limit them and the more favors they get from the Trump administration, the more aligned they become with his vision and hold on power.
This pact benefits both in the short term. Trump gains an unbeatable media platform, almost unlimited funding, and even the ability to spy on all citizens through corporate surveillance infrastructure. In turn, tech companies get a complicit government that looks the other way and guarantees regulatory impunity, undermining democracy in the process.
However, the threat posed by this relationship is not only a domestic issue in the United States, but a global threat as well. Initially, it raises the risk of international tensions and conflicts—as seen just last week with Canada, where a proposed digital tax in Ottawa prompted Trump to threaten a trade war that could bury the USMCA free trade agreement with Mexico. The same story repeats itself with the European Union, which has been a regulatory counterweight to the disproportionate power of U.S. and Chinese tech companies—leading to direct attacks from Trump, despite being strategic allies.
In addition, the warmongering doctrine of the current techno-military elite glorifies preventive violence and exemplary punishment, which could translate into more aggressive interventions against countries deemed hostile—such as Israel in the Middle East, whose army is constantly supported by tech companies and whose prime minister enjoys Trump’s direct protection.
Moreover, the cozy relationship between Trump and the tech oligarchy puts the sovereignty and privacy of other countries at risk, since most essential internet and cyberspace companies physically operate in the United States, giving Washington the ability to exert control and surveillance beyond its borders, but from within its own territory.
As early as 2013, Edward Snowden’s revelations exposed programs like PRISM, through which the National Security Agency (NSA) accessed servers of Google, Facebook, Apple, and others to collect private communications on a large scale. Now, with the open fusion of intelligence and Big Tech, this intrusion could become even more extensive and legitimized from the highest levels of power.
Finally, the alliance of militarism, the tech oligarchy, and Trumpism will hinder international cooperation on common problems. Instead of collaborating to regulate artificial intelligence, neural interfaces, or prevent an uncontrolled arms race, powers may enter zero-sum dynamics fueled by their corporate-military sectors.
In conclusion, we are experiencing turbulent times where the power and capabilities of some companies have created dependent populations and governments. Now, with Western capitalism and U.S. imperialism in decline, elites seek to safeguard their interests at the expense of the general population. In this process, technology and tech oligarchs will play an increasingly prominent role amid a political system that is becoming more authoritarian, violent, and repressive.
Related: The U.S. Authoritarian Decline and Immigration as Enemy, Symbol, and Tool
Mexican Press Agency is part of ALMA, which is dedicated to news and information about Mexico and Mexicans in the United States and is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Focus, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Redwood City, California.
