The growth of tech companies goes paired with growing influence on aspects outside of the business environment, such as political influence. This was discussed during an episode of the Dutch debate and discussion show ‘Buitenhof’.
At the end of August Barry Lynn, a member of a think tank called ‘New America’ was fired. At first sight this doesn’t seem to be that out of the ordinary, but the story behind the resignation is interesting. There are several hundred think thanks based in Washington. These think thanks are crucial to policy thinking in the U.S. New America is one of the most prominent think tanks. Google is one of the most important investors in New America. Fifteen years ago, Google wasn’t into politics. However, more recently they have noticed that their power might be in danger due to political regulation. Consequently, they started lobbying more and started financing think tanks. Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, was the chairman of the Supervisory Board, and appointed the managing board of New America. It’s clear that Google has much influence on New America.
Barry Lynn posted a statement on the website in which he praised the European Commission for giving Google a large fine. Besides that, he was trying to organize politics to battle against the growing power of telecom and tech giants. Reason enough for the board of New America to fire him. The same board that was appointed by Eric Schmidt. Of course, Google and New America deny that Lynn got fired because of his critical statements on Google, but what are the odds? After Lynn got fired, more publications surfaced in which people tell about the pressure they were put under after criticizing Google, so this is a more occurring phenomenon. Does the political influence of tech giants, in this case Google, reach too far?
Sources:
https://www.vpro.nl/buitenhof/speel~POMS_VPRO_10694037~schuim-as~.html
Boffey, D. (2017). Google fined record €2.4bn by EU over search engine results. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/27/google-braces-for-record-breaking-1bn-fine-from-eu
Hill, K. (2017). Yes, Google Uses Its Power To Quash Ideas It Doesn’t Like — I Know Because It Happened To Me. Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/09/yes-google-uses-its-power-to-quash-ideas-it-doesnt-likei-know-because-it-happened-to-me/
Rosen, C. (2017). The Do-Not-Think Tank. Weekly Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-do-not-think-tank/article/2009599
Vogel, K. (2017). Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/us/politics/eric-schmidt-google-new-america.html
