Overnight Tech: Tech’s place in the State of the Union

LEDE: We’re hours away from the last State of the Union President Obama will ever deliver, and it seems unlikely we’ll have the same number of policy proposals — including on tech — that we’ve seen in previous years.

Last year, for example, Obama alluded to the FCC’s then-forthcoming rules on net neutrality, cybersecurity information sharing and the debate over government surveillance.

{mosads}The White House says Tuesday’s speech will be more a general discussion of the issues facing the nation than focused on specific policy prescriptions. That means the president will “look beyond the next election and instead talk about some of the most important issues that will shape our country for generations to come,” according to a post from White House Chief Digital Officer Jason Goldman.

But Obama is still likely to touch on at least some issues that are important to the tech industry.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Obama will address some of the issues facing self-driving cars, a field whose players include not only Valley heavyweights like Uber and Google but also major carmakers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is also a guest of the first lady for the speech, with a White House release mentioning the company’s efforts to promote computer science education and expand paid leave for its employees.

WHERE TO WATCH: The speech will be streaming on the White House’s website, its YouTube channel and on Amazon, in addition to airing on television. It kicks off at 9:00 p.m. ET. The GOP’s response (branded as an “address to the nation”) will be available here.

ALSO, SNAPCHAT: The White House spent the day snapping behind-the-scenes footage in advance of the speech after joining the service on Monday. Also snapping on all cylinders are House Republicans, who featured scenes from Tuesday morning’s leadership press conference. If that’s not enough, there’s also a State of the Union story curated by Snapchat and four different filters for the event. One features silhouettes of the Supreme Court justices with the inscription “SQUAD” and another includes cartoons of Speaker Paul Ryan (Wisc.) and Vice President Biden.

SOTU MOST TWEETED LINES THROUGH THE YEARS: Twitter has been around for every one of President Obama’s State of the Union speeches and on Tuesday rounded up a list of his most popular lines on the social media platform throughout the years.

HIRING NEWS: GOOGLE ADDS WHITE HOUSE VET: The company confirms that Caroline Atkinson has joined them as global head of public policy. She served as deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs from 2013 until last year. “Caroline’s an internationally respected diplomat and advisor, and ​we’re delighted to have such a ​thoughtful ​leader heading our global policy team,” said Google’s General Counsel Kent Walker in a statement. Her hiring was first reported by Politico.

AND AN FCC PROMOTION: Sean Conway, a current legal adviser in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, will be named the deputy director of the agency’s Office of Legislative Affairs.

TRUMP LEADS YET ANOTHER ANALYTICS RACE: Donald Trump is frequently one of the most-mentioned presidential candidates on Facebook and Twitter. Now, add YouTube to the list. BuzzFeed News reported that Trump is the most-viewed candidate on the video-hosting website, although that includes clips that are considered entertainment or comedy (see: The Apprentice).

NET NEUTRALITY EMAILS (UNREDACTED): The House Oversight Committee released 162 pages of old FCC emails during the debate while crafting net neutrality rules. The mostly unredacted emails appear next to the FCC’s redacted versions, which were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request last year. The documents are referenced in a GOP report about the failings of the FOIA system at federal agencies. 

ON TAP:

At 9:00 p.m., President Obama delivers his final State of the Union.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Supporters of a long-term ban on state and local taxes of Internet access are confident they will have the votes in a soon-expected floor fight.

The Federal Communications Commission might be deliberately withholding public records, according to a Republican-led report released this week. 

Issues related to guns are dominating conversations on Facebook linked to President Obama’s final State of the Union address, which he will deliver on Tuesday night, according to data provided by the company.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is failing to make sure U.S. pilots are properly trained to fly commercial flights manually, according to a report from the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General. 

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it is helping Ukraine investigate a recent cyberattack on its power grid that left roughly 700,000 people without power for several hours.

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