What Silicon Valley can expect under Trump

Since the election, President Trump has named only a handful of appointments to serve his administration, making it difficult to grok what a Trump presidency means for many of the complex issues that are dear to Silicon Valley — like immigration, network neutrality, self-driving cars and surveillance. Here’s what we know:

Merger-friendly appointments: AT&T’s $85 billion bid for Time Warner is currently under review by the Justice Department. And despite what Trump said on the campaign trail against the proposed merger, the individuals Trump picked to oversee the DOJ transition have a history helping large, private companies get their way with US regulatory agencies.
Skilled worker visas: One thing Trump has been clear on is his determination to tighten US borders. But when it comes to H1B visas — the program for foreign nationals working in highly skilled jobs like computer science and engineering — Trump has been less direct.
Industry-friendly regulations for self-driving cars and the gig economy: Trump announced in December that he will nominate Elaine Chao, former chief of the Department of Labor under the Bush administration, to head the Department of Transportation. Though she has little experience with self-driving cars, at a confirmation hearing earlier this month Chao hinted that she’s in favor of a light regulatory agenda that won’t get in the way of continued tech development in the nascent industry.
More digital surveillance: Trump is coming into power at a time when the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, is stepping down. Whoever Trump picks to fill the position will likely echo the new president’s philosophy on surveillance, which many privacy advocates see as particularly onerous.
Network neutrality faces extinction: Trump’s reported pick for the FCC Chairmanship, Commissioner Ajit Pai, is expected to roll back the 2015 network neutrality rules, which were created to keep internet providers like Comcast and Verizon from charging websites like Netflix and Facebook an extra fee to reach internet users at faster speeds.