President Biden's warnings about a tech oligarchy clash with his administration's cozy relationship with Microsoft, which enjoys unprecedented access to the White House. This raises concerns about the administration's priorities and its handling of cybersecurity issues.
President Biden’s recent warning about the dangers of a “tech oligarchy” stands in stark contrast to his administration’s unprecedented access granted to Microsoft , whose executives made more than 200 White House visits during his term. The extensive access, particularly to national security officials, raises questions about the administration’s relationship with big tech amid several cybersecurity crises and controversial deals.
During his administration, Microsoft executives visited the White House more than 200 times, involving 82 different executives, according to visitor logs. This level of influence wielded by tech companies over Democrat administrations – Google during the Obama years and now Microsoft, particularly over critical cybersecurity policies during the Biden years. The hundreds of meetings with White House officials not only highlight Microsoft’s proximity to the Biden administration but also reveal how the company strategically targeted the most sensitive areas of government. Roughly one-third of these meetings involved officials from the National Security Council (NSC), with Microsoft executives engaging directly with top national security figures such as Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer.The timing of several key White House meetings suggests that Microsoft leveraged the crises stemming from SolarWinds and the Exchange Server breach to expand its federal footprint. For instance, on May 24, 2021 — just days after Biden’s executive order on SolarWinds — Microsoft executives Jason Zander and David Pritchard met with Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger. Zander, responsible for Microsoft’s federal engagements, met with White House officials on at least six occasions during Biden’s term in office. Critics argue that Microsoft’s efforts were less about resolving vulnerabilities in its products and more about marketing its cybersecurity services to government clients. A scathing 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized Microsoft for its handling of the SolarWinds breach, highlighting the company's slow response and inadequate security measures. President-elect Donald Trump has positioned himself as a critic of Big Tech monopolies. In his previous administration, Trump’s Department of Justice launched major antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, signaling a willingness to confront entrenched corporate power. Insiders suggest that top antitrust picks like Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice and Andrew Ferguson at the FTC will be much tougher on “tech oligarchies” than either the Biden or Obama Administrations. In reality, Biden’s dire warning of a “tech industrial complex” is something that occurred under his watch
Microsoft Biden Administration Tech Oligopoly Cybersecurity National Security White House Access Big Tech Influence
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