Google donated a million dollars to Trump before his inauguration, and Trump sarcastically hinted at Zuckerberg's major revision of Meta content censorship: just be afraid

Two weeks before the inauguration of the President of the United States, the encryption industry has also been showing goodwill to Trump through donations, meetings, and other means. Of course, the tech industry is no exception. Google, as a tech giant, has announced a donation of $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. At the same time, well-known companies such as Meta and OpenAI have already joined the ranks of financial support.

Google announced donations, also providing YouTube live broadcasts and homepage links

According to reports, Google announced on Monday that it would donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee and plans to provide live coverage of the inauguration ceremony through YouTube. It will also set up a live link on Google's search homepage, allowing users worldwide to watch it live.

Google's Global Head of Public Policy, Karan Bhatia, said, 'We are pleased to support the 2025 Presidential Inauguration and have made a donation to mark this historic moment.' Bhatia added that the livestream arrangements and sponsorship for this event are in line with the tradition of supporting past presidential inaugurations and are not significantly different from previous ones.

Meta, OpenAI have long stated that donations from tech giants have become routine

Actually, Google is not the first tech company to donate to Trump's inaugural committee. As early as the end of last year, Meta and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that they had donated $1 million each to Trump. There are reports that Amazon and Apple CEO Cook (Tim Cook) are also on the donation list.

According to the US electoral system, after the president is elected, an inauguration committee is formed and is responsible for organizing activities such as the inauguration ceremony, ball, and parade. Unlike direct political donations, there is no limit to the amount that individuals, companies, or labor groups can donate to the inauguration committee, so businesses are more willing to support through this method.

Apple CEO Cook explains product layout to Trump. Trump's relationship with the technology industry is tense, and there is great pressure for antitrust risks.

Despite the frequent overtures from the technology industry to Trump, his past attitude towards the industry has not been friendly, and he has repeatedly criticized large technology companies for 'monopolizing the market and suppressing small businesses'. In December last year, Trump warned on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that large technology companies were engaged in 'market monopoly activities'.

This is quite sensitive for Google, as the U.S. federal court ruled in August last year that Google engaged in monopolistic behavior in search and text advertising. Subsequently, in November, the second antitrust case against Google's advertising business was completed, and the decision has not yet been announced.

Trump mentioned Meta's policy change, saying, "Maybe they're afraid of me."

After Trump criticized the tech industry, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also announced on 1/7 in a statement from Meta that they will reform Meta's content moderation mechanism, end third-party fact-checking programs, and switch to the Community Notes system. They will also relax content restrictions on certain mainstream political issues and focus on handling illegal or significant violations.

Meanwhile, Trump also expressed his appreciation for the changes at Meta during a press conference held on 1/8 in Florida. When asked if he thought Meta CEO Zuckerberg was responding to his past threats, Trump simply said, "Maybe."

(Trump's new book reveals future plans, publicly intimidating Meta founder Zuckerberg)

Google senior executives contacted Trump, seeking to repair relations

After the election, Google's interaction with Trump gradually increased. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and former Alphabet President Sergey Brin have both met with Trump, with Pichai even congratulating Trump on his 'beautiful' victory on Twitter. In summary, the tech giants are trying to ease tensions with Trump through donations and policy adjustments, while also gaining an advantage in the new government's policy layout.

This article was written before Trump's inauguration, when Google donated a million pounds. Trump indirectly mocked Zuckerberg's major change in Meta's content moderation: If you are afraid, just be afraid. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.