Donald Trump’s View on AI Regulation Fuels Big Tech’s UK Innovation Concerns

• Donald Trump has historically had a light stance on AI regulation.
• Removing regulatory guardrails on emerging technologies could cause the U.K. and Europe to fall further behind in AI innovation.
• Trump’s return to the White House is expected to result in a number of changes to the tech industry.

Donald Trump’s historic win against Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election could inaugurate a new chapter of unregulated AI development in the country.

During his campaign, Trump vowed to reverse an executive order set by President Joe Biden that allowed for government oversight of AI companies.

A potential removal of strict U.S. AI regulation could fuel the fire of Big Tech’s warnings that British and European AI growth is falling behind.

Donald Trump’s AI Stance

Donald Trump has historically had a light stance on Big Tech and AI regulation.

In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump offered no comprehensive overhaul of tech regulation except occasionally criticizing social media companies.

However, the Biden administration made significant moves to regulate the development of emerging technologies, especially AI.

In October 2023, Biden deployed an executive order that enabled the government to oversee and advise AI companies.

“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Left-wing ideas on the development of this technology,” Trump’s manifesto read.

“In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing,” it said.

Big Tech’s AI Warning to U.K. and EU

A potentially unregulated AI future for America could help widen the lead in innovation ahead of the U.K. and the EU.

Big Tech giants have been publicly warning that the EU and Britain could be falling behind the States in its development of AI.

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta shared several public warnings that Europe was falling behind.

“We’re trading on past glories; none of the world’s top 10 start-up ecosystems are in Europe,” said Meta’s head of global affairs Nick Clegg.

“Given that AI offers such a huge potential to lift economic performance, it seems to us it’s pretty damn important if it can play such a crucial role in lifting the fortunes of Europe that it should be as widely accessible as possible,” he added.

Just one month later, Meta’s Vice President of Privacy and Public Policy, Rob Sherman, claimed the EU was prioritizing regulation over innovation.

“If jurisdictions can’t regulate in a way that enables us to have clarity on what’s expected, then it’s going to be harder for us to offer the most advanced technologies in those places,” Sherman told The Financial Times.

Amanda Brock, CEO of open technology advocate OpenUK, told CCN that Britain’s “position in AI has slipped” and believes the country needs to align with America’s AI stance.

“What we know is that alignment with the U.S.’s AI lead will be needed to be impactful, and that is likely to be, at best, light touch and undoubtedly open,” Brock said.

How Will Trump Impact the U.K.’s Tech Sector?

The return of Trump to the White House will likely bring many changes as the new government moves away from the ideals of the Biden administration.

Trump has historically taken a more protectionist stance on trade, sometimes increasing tariffs and renegotiating trade agreements.

Adopting a similar approach in his second term could complicate trade between the U.S. and the U.K., particularly for technology products and services.

However, in April, Robert Greenway, Trump’s former deputy assistant on the National Security Council, said that a U.K.-U.S. trade deal would be “a priority” for his administration.

Speaking to Politico , Greenway added: “I think it’s in both of our interests to do so.”

Trump’s previous administration also focused heavily on fostering domestic technology development.

If a second Trump administration prioritizes American tech development through incentives or subsidies, U.K. and EU firms could find competing for U.S. partnerships and funding harder.