Obama Challenges Tech Industry to Do, Be More in SXSW Keynote Address
Like every single media and entertainment business professional capable of speaking the world “networking” without gagging, President Barack Obama traveled to Austin, Texas this weekend to attend the South by Southwest music/film/interactive media/brand-promotion festival. But he was not there to pawn his business card off on potential professional allies, or to get drunk on cheap Mexican beer and catch the latest buzz bands. (Though the President did have time to grab a taco at the iconic Austin institution of Torchy’s, putting him one secret 3 A.M. Parquet Courts show away from the full SXSW experience.) Obama took the stage last night to deliver the festival’s keynote address, marking the first time a Commander-in-Chief has done so and cementing Obama’s man-of-the-people reputation previously established in appearances on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and Zach Galifianakis’ Between Two Ferns faux-talk show.
In his address, Obama called on all the assembled forces of media, technology, and online engineering to collaborate on solutions to this nation‘s greatest ills addressing everything from updating obsolete federal networks to the thorny debate over security vs. individual privacy most recently ignited by the protracted legal disputes between Apple and the FBI. “The reason I’m here is to recruit all of you,” Obama said. “We can start coming up with new platforms, new ideas across disciplines and across skill sets to solve some of the big problems we’re facing today.” While Obama refused to comment directly on the scuffle between Apple and his FBI, he emphasized the importance of translating innovation to improvements on everyday civic life. He urged moderation in the difficult negotiation between the right to one’s own data, and the public need to ensure it’s being stored and traded safely. Citing his own background as a constitutional lawyer, he emphasized his commitment to individual liberty, but added that some concessions would have to be made, comparing the situation to security checks at airports. “I am of the view there are real reasons we should make sure government can’t willy-nilly get in everyone’s iPhone,” Obama concluded, but also added, “This notion that somehow data is different and can be walled off from those other trade-offs we make, I believe, is incorrect.”
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