Technology

George Soros at Davos: Trump ‘a danger to the world’

Billionaire Democratic donor George Soros on Thursday took aim at President Trump and tech giants during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I consider the Trump administration a danger to the world,” Soros said, according to Bloomberg News. “But I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020, or even sooner.”

“I give President Trump credit for motivating his core supporters brilliantly,” he added. “But for every core supporter, he has created a greater number of core opponents who are equally strongly motivated. That’s why I expect a Democratic landslide in 2018.”

Soros, who said climate change should be viewed as a threat to civilization, also targeted Facebook and Google in particular in his remarks, calling for stricter regulations, BuzzFeed News reported.

{mosads}“They claim they are merely distributing information. But the fact that they are near-monopoly distributors make them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal access,” Soros said.

Facebook, Google and Twitter are among the tech giants that have faced criticism following the 2016 presidential election after fake news stories were propagated on each platform. 

Representatives from each company testified late last year in front of Congress on how the Russian government used the platforms to meddle in the election.

Soros on Thursday argued Facebook and Google could align with authoritarian countries, such as China, to exert total control over information.

Soros, a prominent liberal donor, funds progressive nonprofit groups around the world through his Open Society Foundation.