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Some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders from his first day in office are being applauded by tech industry leaders.
NetChoice, a trade organization representing tech companies such as Amazon (AMZN+2.09%), Google (GOOGL+1.44%), and Meta (META+0.85%), said Trump’s rollback of Biden administration regulations on U.S. energy production and “artificial intelligence (AI) red tape” are “critical” for the U.S. to lead in technological development.
Trump issued a slate of executive orders on Monday, including one declaring a national energy emergency and approving executive department and agency heads to use “any lawful emergency authorities available to them” to start leasing, siting, producing, and generating U.S. energy resources — including on federal land.
The president also rescinded the Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on AI safety and security as part of a sweeping revocation of the previous administration’s executive orders and actions.
“Upon returning to office, President Trump showed that America is ready to lead in tech and innovation again,” Steve DelBianco, chief executive of NetChoice, said in a statement. “By repealing Biden’s restrictive rules on energy production and AI development, the president is steering America to remain dominant in creating the best technology in the world.”
NetChoice also praised Trump’s executive order on “restoring” free speech and “ending federal censorship” as “a victory for the First Amendment and all Americans.”
The trade organization said Congress should follow Trump’s actions by reintroducing and passing the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act, which “generally prohibits” executive agency employees from censoring speech while acting in an official capacity.
“This critical legislation would ensure no future President or bureaucrats can coerce social media sites to suppress lawful American speech,” Robert Winterton, NetChoice vice president of public affairs, said in a statement.
Trump was joined by a slew of tech leaders on the dais at his inauguration Monday, including Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.