Midterm elections were not the lopsided Republican gain that had been predicted, but some ballot issues resulted in surprising changes for the tech industry.
Key Details
- Control of the House of Representatives is likely to tilt slightly to the Republicans, but the results could mean changes in regulation for tech companies.
- A gridlocked congress will likely result in less legislation affecting the tech industry.
- Continued probing of TikTok could also prove beneficial for tech companies as they struggle to compete with the Chinese-affiliated social-media app.
Why it’s news
The overall election results bring fairly positive news for Big Tech companies. Republicans are likely to gain control of the House of Representatives while Democrats have Senate control. This gridlock may work in the tech industry’s favor as major changes are unlikely to make their way through both sides of Congress.
A split government could reduce the risk of antitrust legislation affecting major tech companies like Meta and Apple.
Alphabet, Google, and Meta also benefit from increased observation of TikTok. The video social media app is a source of major competition for the tech giants. Changes to how the app is allowed to operate in the U.S. could be beneficial for the competition.
Californians voting down Proposition 30 was a somewhat surprising turn of events. Residents of the Golden State are typically on board with tax increases, especially when the funds go toward projects like subsidizing EVs.
The state has been encouraging residents to transition to EVs through recent legislation. Companies like Lyft and Uber are also being pressured to switch to predominantly EVs by 2030.
Even with residents’ historic support of tax increases and EVs, the proposition lost by a 3-to-2 margin.
Proposition 30’s failure to pass is good news for rideshare company Lyft as the company would have received massively increased taxes.
