Op-Ed: The Big Tech Monopoly Threatening American Innovation and National Security
By: Matthew Swain
Retired County Commissioner, Stanly County Republican Party Chairman
I've been helping North Carolina's young people train to work with both their hands and their minds for over 20 years, getting them ready for the jobs, many of which are best learned with real-world experience, like trades and agriculture. I’m also a small farmer myself, and two decades ago, we kept all our logs and data on paper. We didn't need Excel when a grid-ruled notebook did the trick. Today though, computers have wormed their way into every corner of agriculture and career training. Despite all our headaches with technology, it's here to stay.
Thanks to President Trump standing up for American manufacturing by placing tariffs on countries ripping us off, factories and farms will roar back to life. Career and technical educators across the country have awaited this moment, when hard work done with your hands will finally get its due respect.
The computers aren't going away, but more real jobs—where you're not hunched behind a screen all day—will once again become our country's true pride. You will be able to put in an honest day's work and take care of your family with your pay, especially once President Trump ends tax on overtime.
We're beginning an American renaissance because President Trump recognizes we must rebuild our manufacturing base to prevent American collapse. Our homegrown infrastructure and know-how is the key to this new economic era. However, America needs to keep it secure to avoid being taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, one major stumbling block is Microsoft's chokehold on government and education technology. Their behavior shows how dangerous it is when one company has the power to distort the free market, filling spaces meant for innovation and fair competition. By concentrating the vast majority of government systems on one platform, it threatens our economy and national security while delivering buggy software. The failing state of American tech infrastructure in both the private and public sectors is a direct threat to the MAGA agenda. This is why President Trump supports continuing a vital investigation into their underhanded business practices.
The national security implications demand our urgent attention. Schools, businesses, and government agencies critically depend on Microsoft's products, creating vulnerabilities throughout our infrastructure. This reliance threatens our national security—we've seen the consequences when these systems are compromised. Foreign adversaries have successfully breached these defenses, accessing sensitive government information and communications. These hacks reveal the dangers of allowing a single company to become so embedded in our digital ecosystem. Microsoft is magnifying those threats by rapidly deploying artificial intelligence functions in their products.
In my roles directing Career and Technical Education programs, I've seen schools waste taxpayer dollars on overpriced hardware and software products with questionable cybersecurity. Specifically, Microsoft’s restrictive licensing agreements make finding alternatives nearly impossible, and their aggressive artificial intelligence integration across their products raises additional concerns about data privacy and security. As Republicans, we advocate for free markets and competition yet let tech giants act like consequence-free monopolies.
The government must also examine how Microsoft leverages its existing monopoly to dominate emerging AI technologies, potentially stifling American innovation in this critical field. Our government's digital backbone is too important to entrust to one company with questionable security.
As Republicans, we support real free markets, not monopolies. We back American businesses, not global corporations with divided loyalties. We demand accountability from Big Tech companies that squeeze American consumers dry.
The time has come to restore competition to our technology markets. Our economic future and national security depend on it.
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