"I want to warn the country about some things that I am very concerned about: the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few extremely wealthy people - and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power goes unchecked," emphasized the 82-year-old, who will hand over the sceptre to Donald Trump on 20 January.

"The free press is crumbling"
Probably alluding to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Biden warned: "Today, an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power and influence is emerging in America that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, freedoms and the fair opportunity for everyone to get ahead. Americans are being inundated with misinformation and disinformation, which enables the abuse of power." Bidens painted an extremely bleak future scenario: "The free press is crumbling, editors are disappearing, fact-checks are being abandoned on social media. The truth will be suppressed by lies that are spread for reasons of power and profit." He therefore called for social platforms to be held accountable in order to protect children, families and democracy itself from abuses of power.

Tesla and SpaceX boss Musk has a particularly close relationship with Trump, who will be sworn in as president next week. Musk, who also owns Platform X, hardly leaves Trump's side, is expected to advise the future government on cutting spending and speaks out publicly on all kinds of political issues despite not having a mandate.

Zuckerberg, on the other hand, recently spoke out against censorship and, as head of the Facebook group Meta, initiated a change of course by moving away from the previous moderation model on his social platforms. In doing so, he followed Musk's lead, who largely lifted restrictions on comments on the platform following the takeover of Twitter. Researchers and some users accuse the renamed successor platform X of allowing hate speech since then. X rejects this. Both Musk and Zuckerberg are said to be hoping that their proximity to Trump will benefit their companies.

"The power of the president is not unlimited"
Biden also issued a warning with regard to the President-elect. He called for clarification in the constitution that no president is immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. "The power of the president is not unlimited. It is not absolute," said the outgoing incumbent. He was referring to a controversial ruling by the US Supreme Court.

In July, the Supreme Court, with its right-wing conservative majority, ruled that Trump enjoys immunity for certain actions from his first term in office. The historic decision came about as a result of an indictment against Trump for electoral fraud. Although the future president has not been given a complete blank cheque for any misconduct, he has been given dangerous leeway for his second term in office.

In view of these omens, Biden invoked democracy and fundamental rights in his speech and called for their defense. He had served the country for 50 years, said Biden - and added to his fellow countrymen: "Now it's your turn to stand guard."

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