Trump’s Early Statements Indicate He’ll Be A Tech Industry Ally

One position that has emerged from Trump’s statements about H-1B visas is that he would like to limit them to specific salary levels that favor highly-paid technical experts that are really in short supply to keep them from competing with mid-level workers who might be more easily hired domestically.

This view seems to be supported by the fact that Trump has gathered an advisory group of senior corporate executive who hire employees with H-1B visas. However, at this point it’s not clear exactly how the H-1B visa issue will turn out.

Two of the administration’s most important appointments that involve technology are already known. Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler stepped down concurrent with Trump’s inauguration and the new administration has said that current Commissioner Ajit Pai will immediately take over as interim chairman, with a permanent appointment of Pai as the chairman soon to follow.

Net neutrality

Pai has said that net neutrality’s days are numbered and his statements as a commissioner have shown significant opposition to Wheeler’s positions on consumer protection and on the FCC’s role as a protector of personal privacy. While this doesn’t mean the end of the Internet as we know it, there will certainly be changes.

The other regulatory area is the Patent and Trademark Office, which controls what can be protected by a patent and what can’t. There, the Trump administration has announced that Michelle Lee, the current head of the PTO, will remain. Lee has worked to streamline the patent process in the U.S., and has been widely supported in the technology industry.

But what do we know of the president’s personal views on technology? The non-partisan news archiving group Ontheissues.org sent Trump a series of questions on his technology policy. His answer on space exploration is a strong indicator of his feelings. “Space exploration has given so much to America, including tremendous pride in our scientific and engineering prowess,” Trump said.

“A strong space program will encourage our children to seek STEM educational outcomes and will bring millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in investment to this country. The cascading effects of a vibrant space program are legion and can have a positive, constructive impact on the pride and direction of this country,” Trump’s answer said.

Still up for debate

While the president hasn’t accepted some assertions regarding Russian attempts to impact the U.S. election, in the same series of questions, Trump has come out strongly in favor or research and funding for cyber-security.

“As for protecting the internet, any attack on the internet should be considered a provocative act that requires the utmost in protection and, at a minimum, a proportional response that identifies and then eliminates threats to our internet infrastructure,” he stated.

In general, it appears that the new Trump administration is essentially friendly to technology and to the industries that support it. However, there are myriad details affecting the economy and technology that haven’t been worked out yet.

The new president’s views on these details aren’t clear yet. For example, we don’t know who the new NASA administrator will be. Likewise, it’s not clear who will head a number of other groups under the purview of the federal government.

How will it turn out in the long run? That’s unclear, but it’s important to remember that the president isn’t all-powerful and much of what effects U.S. industry is regulated by established law and congressional legislation. What that means is that it’s at least as important to worry about Congress will do as it is to watch to see what Trump does.

Originally published on eWeek

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