Does Big Tech belong to the Deep State?

Donald Trump has insisted on the existence of a dark, secret force conspiring against his government and against the interests of the "true American people": the Deep State. The term became popular during his presidency; it refers to a network of bureaucrats, intelligence agencies, elites, and unelected actors who, according to Trump, operate behind the scenes to preserve the status quo , sabotage non-aligned governments, and control strategic decisions in Washington.

Trump has repeatedly mentioned the Deep State. In May 2018, he tweeted: “The FBI, DOJ, and others are controlled by Deep State individuals who are trying to sabotage my Presidency.” During his second presidential campaign, he again spoke of “purging the government of this permanent apparatus that holds the nation back.”

Citizens for Ethics documented that from January 1, 2023, to April 1, 2024, Trump stated 56 times in his Truth Social platform that he wants to “demolish the Deep State” by dismantling the civil service, limiting the power of institutions and experts, and replacing career officials with loyalists.

Members of the Deep State are agnostic officials and subject-matter experts who provide public services. Trump claims the Deep State is the main force that prevented him from achieving everything he wanted during his first term, sabotaging him and undermining his power.

In April 2023, he presented a 10-point plan to "dismantle the Deep State" with actions such as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to declassify and publish all documents on the Deep State's spying, censorship, and abuses of power. He also implemented a crackdown on those who leak government information and collude with the media to create false narratives.

We also need to establish an independent audit system to monitor intelligence agencies and ensure they don't spy on citizens or conduct disinformation campaigns against the American people. We also need to prohibit federal bureaucrats from accepting jobs at the companies they regulate, such as Big Pharma.

Does the Deep State really exist? Is it a legend, a conspiracy theory, or an exaggerated representation of the tensions between the Trump administration, the permanent bureaucracy, and the powers that be? More importantly, what is the role of Big Tech in this scenario?

Historically, Big Tech (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft) are seen as ideological allies of globalist progressivism: defenders of diversity, inclusion, and liberal causes. During his first presidency, Trump accused the platforms of systematic censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and progressive bias. He denounced Twitter (before being acquired by Elon Musk) for blocking the dissemination of news that was detrimental to Democrats.

Then the paradox arises: if Big Tech was seen as part of the apparatus that Trump called the Deep State—due to its alignment with the Democratic political and media elite and its ability to shape public opinion on a massive scale—how can we explain that in his second term, Big Tech aligned itself with his policies and that an emblematic figure of Silicon Valley, Elon Musk, is now the head of the Department of Government Efficiency?

The hypothesis is that Trump isn't seeking to make a pact with Big Tech but rather to divide it. The arrival of Musk (owner of X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink, a defender of freedom of expression and decentralization, but a propagator of fake news) into Trump's inner circle and the government could respond to a strategy to dismantle the Deep State.

As head of the Department of Government Efficiency (a deregulation agency), Musk's mission is to reduce the size of government, cut bureaucracies, decentralize processes, and neutralize the power loops entrenched in Washington.

His disruptive and innovative profile, his affinity with libertarian positions, and his open confrontation with the technological establishment (the mass dismissal of Twitter executives, his confrontation with Amazon's Jeff Bezos and OpenAi's Sam Altman) make him an ideal pawn for an institutional counterweight and state slimming operation.

This is where the relationship between Big Tech and the Deep State becomes complex. Big Tech is not a homogeneous bloc. While companies like Google and Meta may align themselves with a globalist and progressive vision, others like X, SpaceX, and Starlink, under Musk's leadership, have challenged governments like Germany, regulators in Brazil, multilateral organizations, and even the European bloc. In fact, Starlink satellites have become an autonomous geopolitical tool, intervening in conflicts like the Ukraine-Russia conflict without relying on US authorization.

By supporting Trump and positioning themselves as a technological fifth column during his administration, are Musk and certain Big Tech organizations distancing themselves from the Deep State or forming their own private Deep State? While the large internet platforms oppose the bureaucratic apparatus for being refractory to regulation, they are building their own de facto power: control of massive data, critical infrastructure such as data centers, social networks, algorithms, satellites, and multi-service access platforms that even exceed the capacity of some countries.

This parallel technopower is equally profound and complex to regulate. By assuming government functions, Musk could replicate the same vices of the classic Deep State, now from a privatized and digital space, where efficiency and deregulation give rise to gaps in democratic oversight.

The Deep State is not an idea unique to Trump; every country believes it has a nomenclature operating in the shadows. In the United States, various sectors (libertarians, critical progressives, classical conservatives) have warned about the existence of permanent power networks, agencies with their own interests, and links between economic elites and government structures.

Trump only popularized the term, gave it an enemy face, and turned it into a narrative. The Deep State, if it exists, transcends parties and governments. It is a web of interests where Big Tech plays as allies, adversaries, or future masters of the board. Musk's presence in the Trump administration does not necessarily mean the dismantling of the Deep State, but rather its transformation into a new apparatus of techno-digital power, with different, but equally ambitious, interests, scope, and logic.

X: @beltmondi