The logos of the big tech companies Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook shown on the phone.
Biden and the Democrats have long maintained close ties with major technology companies, which conservatives have been concerned about. Currently, Biden has hired at least 14 current or former executives from five major tech companies who will advise Biden’s transition team or serve in future administrations.
These big tech companies include Apple, Google, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook. Last week, they all used their platforms to take a swipe at President Trump and Parler, a social media site popular with conservatives.
The social media purge of Trump and his supporters has sparked concerns that major tech companies hold too much control.
Conservatives in particular fear that conservatives will be further targeted for scrutiny in the near future as big tech companies become more closely tied to Democrats.
Reuters reported last month that tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google are lobbying the Biden transition team to place their executives in various executive positions. The executives are seeking positions at the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense, as well as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs.
Politico reports that Biden has tapped Cynthia Hogan, Apple’s former vice president for public policy and government affairs, to serve on his transition team on a full-time basis. Hogan was a longtime adviser to Biden, having worked for him when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Erskine Bowles, a former Facebook board member, serves as an adviser to Biden’s transition team.
Jessica Hertz, a former Facebook executive, will serve as White House chief of staff. Emily Horne, formerly head of global policy communications at Twitter, will serve as press director and spokeswoman for the National Security Council, according to the Biden-Herjenly transition team website.
David Recordon, a former Facebook developer, will serve as technical director of the Office of Management and Administration, and Austin Lin, a former program manager, will serve as Recordon’s deputy.
Jeff Zients, a former Facebook board member who served in the Obama administration, will serve as Biden’s Covid-19 czar, the leader of the Communist Party’s virus task force.
According to Biden’s financial filings with the Office of Government Ethics, Biden tapped Tony Blinken to serve as secretary of state, and Blinken is advising Facebook through his consulting firm, WestExec Partners.
Three Facebook executives, Zaid Zaid, Rachel Lieber and Christopher Upperman, are members of the transition review team that advises the State Department, the intelligence community and the Small Business Administration on nominations.
Tom Sullivan and Mark Schwartz, executives at Amazon, will serve on the State Department’s Institutional Review Panel and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), respectively, in waiting.
Deon Scott, program manager for Google’s Global Business Operations, will be a member of the Department of Homeland Security review panel.
On Nov. 13, a lobbying firm co-founded by Biden’s senior White House adviser Steve Ricchetti and his brother also signed a lobbying agreement with Amazon.
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