I believe the idea is that, given the choice between
- Nobody in the entire tech industry has influence over government
- A few key players like Apple and Google have influence over government
Your parent is saying, the latter is better, because Apple & Google (being tech companies) have shared interests with other tech companies.
Certainly there is risk that the big companies would use their influence in government to trample smaller tech companies, but could it be that risk is smaller than the risks of the whole tech sector having zero say/influence in government at all?
- Nobody in the entire tech industry has influence over government
- A few key players like Apple and Google have influence over government
Your parent is saying, the latter is better, because Apple & Google (being tech companies) have shared interests with other tech companies.
Certainly there is risk that the big companies would use their influence in government to trample smaller tech companies, but could it be that risk is smaller than the risks of the whole tech sector having zero say/influence in government at all?