Presidential candidates are facing pressure from a new bipartisan group to refuse donations from Big Tech companies in the 2024 election. The “No Big Tech Money” pledge launched on Tuesday and is pushing to separate Big Tech from politics, saying these companies have “amassed too much power over our democracy, our economy, and our lives.”
The pledge specifically targets Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., and if a political candidate signs the pledge, they are agreeing to accept no more than $200 from any Big Tech company listed. Once a candidate signs, it applies to all current and future campaigns, regardless of if a candidate switches the office they are running for.
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The No Big Tech Money pledge has not received any signers at the time of writing, according to the spokesperson, having just launched today, but he said: “Efforts are now underway to ask candidates for President, Senate, and House to sign the pledge.”
By signing the pledge, candidates are showing they “are willing to stand with people, not Big Tech,” and shows their acknowledgment of the role Big Tech is playing within the U.S. democracy, the group’s site says.
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Emily Southard, the founder of the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge in 2019, is now the executive director for the No Big Tech Money Project and was motivated to found it after the success of her former group, a spokesperson for the group said in an email. The fossil fuel pledge reportedly brought in thousands of candidates’ signatures, most of whom were Democrats, the spokesperson said, but noted the Big Tech pledge differs in one major way, it has “true cross-party appeal.”
The group is working alongside both conservative and progressive groups to reel in candidates’ support for its mission. “The pledge was started because Big Tech companies like Facebook and Google have amassed too much power and control, have hurt small businesses, and have too much influence in Washington,” the spokesperson said. “Specifically, Big Tech companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in political donations and on lobbying to kill legislation that would rein them in and promote competition,” he added.
Tech companies have drastically increased their political spending in recent years, reaching roughly $106.2 million in 2020, more than doubling the $47.1 million donated in 2018 and nearly three times the $37.7 million spent in 2016, according to the nonprofit, OpenSecrets. It noted that Alphabet spent more than $11.2 million in contributions last year, while Amazon spent $21.8 million, and Meta spent $19.1 million.
However, the pledge does not include some companies that have long been top contributors in political elections, including Netflix, which was ranked as number one for the highest monetary contribution of $7.8 million.
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“The pledge is a way for politicians to say enough is enough and to signal to voters that they’ll put our democracy, our small businesses, and our families over Big Tech’s corrupting influence,” Southard told The Washington Post.
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