Economic boycotts are a familiar tool of protest. The problem is they often place the greatest strain on the smallest businesses.
That was the case during Friday’s nationwide general strike, which was designed to pressure the Trump administration to dial back its aggressive anti-immigration policies.
For many small business owners, the shutdown created a dilemma. Supporting the cause often means losing a day’s revenue and risking their ability to keep staff employed. Across social media, owners voiced solidarity alongside an apology for staying open.
There may, however, be another way, according to Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University famous for his critiques of Big Tech.
Instead of a blanket shutdown, Galloway is calling for Americans to focus on major tech companies by unsubscribing from — or opting out of — services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Amazon’s Prime Video, and Microsoft Office.
A targeted boycott starting on Sunday and lasting the entire month of February could move markets, he says, which would, in turn, affect the CEOs who have the ear of President Donald Trump.
“We’re proposing something quieter and less cinematic than a protest that will run all day on cable TV, but much more disturbing to the Trump administration. A one-day slowdown is irritating. A one-month slump is terrifying,” he wrote in a blog post announcing the boycott.
Major tech CEOs have sought favor with the president during his second term. Many of them donated to his inauguration, for starters.
AI executives, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, also accepted an invitation to a White House dinner with Trump in September, where the leaders took turns lauding the president. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy attended the White House premiere of the documentary about first lady Melania Trump at the height of January’s anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis.
Supporting the AI industry in its competition with China is a major pillar of Trump’s economic agenda.
“These are the leaders who have his ear,” Galloway writes. “A modest reduction in their companies’ growth could have a substantial impact on valuations priced to perfection. Small changes in consumer behavior — starting on the first day of February — could have an enormous ripple effect, one that extends all the way to the White House.”
The anti-ICE movement
Regular protests against the tactics of ICE and Border Patrol personnel have gripped the country for months. Thousands marched through Minneapolis again on Saturday. Tensions rose dramatically in January after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, both at the hands of federal immigration agents.
In both instances, protesters recorded videos and posted them to social media for the world to see, leaving little room for the Trump administration to spin the events in its favor.
While those videos and the subsequent protests — as well as the attempted nationwide shutdown — have spread awareness, they have so far done little to substantively shift the administration’s immigration policies.
The Department of Homeland Security demoted a key Border Patrol official last week and promised more changes. At the same time, however, the acting director of ICE expanded the power agents have to carry out warrantless searches, according to an internal memo seen by The New York Times.
“Real change always comes from the American people, not from our political parties. But power doesn’t fear protests nearly as much as economic withdrawals,” Galloway writes. “Getting off your couch, taking to the streets, and building community is important, but the most radical act in a capitalist society isn’t marching, it’s not spending.”
