Week ahead: Tech heads to GOP convention

by TheHill.com - 07/18/16 6:00 AM ET

The tech industry plans to have a strong presence at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Venture capitalist Peter Thiel will speak, bringing a dash of Silicon Valley cachet to the event.

{mosads}It’s not clear when Thiel will address the summit, but he explained his decision to appear at the convention on Thursday.

“Many people are uncertain in this election year, but most Americans agree that our country is on the wrong track,” he said in a statement. “I don’t think we can fix our problems unless we can talk about them frankly. That is why I am going to speak in Cleveland, and that is why I will support the Republican nominee.”

Thiel is an early investor in Facebook who has staked out a position as one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent conservatives. He has supported libertarian causes in the past, including Ron Paul’s presidential campaign and a plan to create a new, autonomous society at sea.

Thiel’s involvement with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump has put some pressure on the companies he is associated with. Facebook made it clear this week that Thiel wasn’t speaking for the company in Cleveland.

“Peter Thiel is attending and speaking at the RNC in his personal capacity,” said a company spokesperson. “He is not attending on behalf of Facebook or to represent our views.”

Despite a public campaign earlier this year to pressure the technology industry to distance itself from the convention over Trump, major companies have donated and will have a visible presence at the convention.

Google, Twitter, AT&T and a host of other companies will be producing live streams of the full convention. And Microsoft, despite not donating cash, is offering up its Office software tools for the event.

Facebook is hosting an invite-only brunch event — with the theme of Make Brunch Great Again — and is creating its own filing center for reporters. It will also have booths to show off its products and field questions from journalists.

But the presence at the convention does not mean the industry is warming to the presumptive GOP nominee. Dozens of prominent tech leaders and executives at major companies like Slack, Twitter and Instagram released an op-ed on Thursday saying that Trump would be “a disaster for innovation.”

Also at the convention, on Wednesday, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation hosts an event “to explore ways the 45th president and 115th Congress can work together to shape policies to foster innovation, boost productivity, and make the United States more competitive in the global economy.” It features lawmakers, including Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), and Facebook’s Head of U.S. Public Policy Erin Egan.

Also on Wednesday, a number of major trade groups and companies host a panel discussion on tech policy and a reception. “The event will engage congressional leaders in a fireside chat format to explore how an innovation agenda might take shape in the next Congress under their party’s president,” the groups said. “A response will be offered by a panel of industry executives followed by a reception with policymakers, industry stakeholders, and others important to advancing the innovation agenda.”