We’re a small but mighty team relying on grassroots donations to fight back against a vast concentration of wealth and power endangering our on and offline world. Help us win the battle for a safer internet by donating today.

Hey Team –

Although we have elected officials to represent us, we’re watching these leaders be bought and sold by the wealthy executives of Big Tech monopolies in real time today. You may have heard people use the word oligarchy to describe what’s happening. But what does that really mean?

An oligarchy is defined as “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes” [1]. Big Tech CEOs are donating massive sums to Trump’s inauguration [2] and changing their policies to reflect Trump’s interests. From abandoning DEI initiatives [3] to removing independent fact-checkers, [4] these corporations are wielding their power to serve the president in the hopes that he protects their power and profits – all at our expense.

You may wonder how we got here. In the past, voters held greater sway over our elected officials. But in 2010, a Supreme Court case known as Citizens United ruled that wealthy donors and corporations could spend an unlimited amount of money on elections. It resulted in the creation of PACs, or political action committees, and super PACs [5] which allowed the wealthy to spend money buying up ads, hosting events, hiring whole marketing and PR teams, and more, giving them disproportionate power over what voters see and swaying public opinion to their interests. We know that Elon Musk set up a super PAC that spent nearly $200 million in support of Trump [6], and now he heads a new government advisory body, driven to slash government spending and regulation [7] to the tune of his own benefit.

Fighting against the wealthy few who control our leaders is no easy task. They’ve got all the resources in the world to make Trump work for them, while we suffer from the spread of disinformation, hate speech, and extremism. But Accountable Tech is not giving up. We’re a small team of people dedicated to making the internet a safe place for everyone – where we can access reliable information and share it with our networks, without the fear of harassment. And this fight would be impossible without people like you.

While we don’t have billions of dollars, what we do have is people power. And when we work together, we can use that power to demand more from the companies. If enough supporters give just $10, we’ll have our first people-powered million to fight back. Donate now.

We’re not in the business of exploiting your time, attention, and data – we’re in the business of reining in Big Tech and creating a digital world that works for all of us.

In solidarity,

Nicole Gill
Co-founder and Executive Director
Accountable Tech

Sources:

Merriam-Webster: Oligarchy
Common Cause: Big Tech is Donating Millions to Trump’s Inauguration
Fast Company: Big Tech companies are cutting DEI programs—but watch exactly how they do it
NPR: Meta says it will end fact checking as Silicon Valley prepares for Trump
Brennan Center: Citizens United Explained
AP News: Elon Musk’s PAC spent an estimated $200 million to help elect Trump, AP source says
The New York Times: Inside Elon Musk’s Plan for DOGE to Slash Government Costs

Chip in to support our work holding Big Tech accountable:

CHIP IN