Tech companies most loved by liberals, conservatives

Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft are four major companies that are most loved by both conservatives and liberals, according to a survey commissioned by Fortune. 

Each of the companies appeared on the top-10 list of companies most loved by members of each party. Amazon fared the best, coming in first among liberals and second among conservatives. 

{mosads}About 10,000 U.S. adults answered questions about the 100 largest companies in online surveys. The list is the result of a blend of 12 questions that ask about company reputation, trust, influence and global impact, as well as which companies respondents would want to work for or shut down. 

The tech companies on the list are some of the biggest names in the industry and have become household names to millions of people who use the internet. Many of the companies have also become tangled in recent political fights and are major players in Washington, D.C.

Apple was engaged in a high-profile court battle with the government earlier this year, when the FBI pressed the company to help unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. The fight created a major debate about encryption before the government found a third party to help break into the phone. 

The telecom industry and many conservatives in Washington have gone after Google recently, meanwhile, alleging that its growing influence in Washington is responsible for many actions at the Federal Communications Commission, including a new controversial proposal to open up the TV set-top box market. 

Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, have also sparred with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump recently. Trump has alleged that Bezos is using his ownership of The Washington Post to go after Trump and stave off antitrust and tax concerns. The newspaper has strongly denied those charges, and Bezos has said Trump’s remarks are inappropriate for a presidential candidate. 

And Microsoft recently won praise from some civil rights and liberal groups after it announced that it would not make cash donations to the Republican National Convention next month. The company will still be donating technology equipment, but advocates have pressed major companies to avoid sponsoring the convention because of Trump. 

The only technology company that appeared on the liberal top-10 list but not the conservative list was Intel. The company’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, was recently forced to say he is not supporting Trump after a Trump campaign fundraiser was scheduled at his home but ended up not taking place. 

According to the survey, Comcast was the only telecom or technology company that appeared on the magazine’s 10-most hated companies by conservatives and liberals.