The President minced no words, suggesting that social media was putting the bottom line ahead of children's health. 

"Children were struggling before the pandemic," he told his audience, citing "bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media. 

"As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit," he continued, "thanking her for the courage she showed as she stood for applause. "It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, and demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children." 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) chair of the Senate Consumer Protection subcommittee, big Big Tech critic and chief sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act, praised the President's take on protecting children online.

“President Biden is issuing a powerful call to action on the youth mental health crisis exacerbated by social media, addressed directly by my Kids Online Safety Act," said Blumenthal. "I’m leading this measure with Senator [Marsha] Blackburn [R-Tenn.] so kids and parents are empowered with tools and safeguards to protect against toxic online content like self-harm, eating disorders, and bullying—and to hold Big Tech accountable. This comprehensive bill culminates bipartisan hearings, and decades of work for me personally. I look forward to pushing for its swift passage to safeguard children online, putting them in better control of their online lives.”

House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) agreed that social media needed regulating, but suggested the President was joining a fight Republicans were already leading. 

“Big Tech must be held accountable for their utter disregard for people’s privacy and data security and well-being—especially our children, who are consistently being manipulated and exploited for profit by these companies," Morris said following the speech. "Protecting kids online starts by establishing a national privacy and data security framework and enacting legislation that stops Big Tech’s harmful abuse of power. 

“Since day one of this Congress, E&C Republicans have been leading on solutions to do just that, and have urged President Biden to take these concerns seriously. I welcome President Biden joining our call and urge my Democratic committee colleagues to stop dragging their feet and prioritize comprehensive privacy legislation and addressing Big Tech’s harm on kids. If Congressional Democrats truly want to promote Big Tech transparency and accountability, protect our kids, and strengthen privacy protections for Americans, they should start by reviewing and engaging with Republican’s on our solutions.” 

The President's backing of social media regulation also drew praise from a number of children's privacy advocates. 

"We applaud President Biden for recognizing what the Big Tech CEOs willfully deny, that their products and platforms play an important role in defining the future of this country," said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech. "The White House’s support for reforms like strengthening children’s privacy, banning surveillance advertising for children and young people online, and demanding algorithmic transparency and research access demonstrates the time is now to rein in Big Tech and hold these companies accountable for their role in the decline of young people's mental health."

Also: Facebook Whistleblower Gets Seat in Biden SOTU Box

"Children and teens need to be protected from surveillance advertising that identifies, tracks, profiles, and discriminates against them continuously," said Katharina Kopp, policy director at Center for Digital Democracy. "Digital marketers employ stealthy 'Big Data' tactics to manipulate young people, while also gathering their information gleaned from mobile phones, gaming platforms, and social media. The Center for Digital Democracy supports calls for Congress to enact legislation that guards the privacy of youth, bans surveillance advertising, institutes online safety by design, stops online discrimination, and invests in research to serve the best interest of children and teens."

"President Biden is right to name and lay out a platform to address the dire national youth mental health crisis," said Bethany Robertson, co-director, ParentsTogether. "A significant and growing body of research shows 'almost constant' social media use significantly harms kids’ mental health in a number of ways, including increasing depression and anxiety, lowering self-esteem and body image, and triggering addictive behaviors – resulting in mental and emotional harm, and even death. This crisis is being driven by social media companies’ dangerous-by-design features, rooted in profit above kids’ safety. We urge social media companies and Congress to take quick, decisive action to protect kids..." ■

At one point late in the speech, in a nod to the need for infrastructure investment, the President said: "I’m also committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed Internet, including and especially in rural America."

Related: ITI Provides SOTU Speech Advice

At another, he asked Congress to "back my plan to offer vocational and technical education in every single high school in America."

He also took a victory lap over the signing of the new USMCA trade deal and a trade deal with China that he said would help defend intellectual property--while also loosening tariffs that tech companies said had hit them hard.

"[I]nternational trade deals, like USMCA and the U.S.-China agreement, will help advance the 21st century economy. We urge President Trump to continue to advance efforts to secure more trade agreements that support continued economic growth," said Jason Oxman, president of tech industry group the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), after the speech.

ITI also called for policies that recognize the contributions of immigrants to the tech workforce, but the President's immigration themes were focused on building The Wall, criticizing sanctuary cities, and preventing "criminal" illegal/undocumented immigrants from getting healthcare.

Connect Americans Now executive director Richard Cullen praised the Administration for efforts to close the divide, but used the rural broadband line to suggest more could be done to achieve that goal.

“While progress has been made, there is still much more the White House and policymakers in Washington can do to close the broadband gap for millions of Americans living in unserved and underserved rural areas,” said Cullen. “In particular, Connect Americans Now encourages policymakers in Washington to ensure funding mechanisms remain technology neutral, support additional solutions to improve the mapping of the digital divide and prioritize solutions to enhance the pace and scale of deployments in rural areas by maximizing the benefit of available spectrum.”

ITI president Jason Oxman said that to keep the state of the Union one that foster's innovation and insures U.S. leadership in tech, the President's address needs to address: 

1. Trade truce 

ITI praises the "phase one" deal with China, but said the President must make it clear he is working on a long-term deal rolling back remaining tariffs.

2. Federal privacy legislation 

ITI wants a national privacy law out of Congress and says the President should urge that as well.

3. U.S. transportation and infrastructure  

Integrating smart technology with traditional infrastructure is key, said Oxman. The President should reiterate his pledge to helping cities leverage smart technology.

4. STEM workforce  

The Trump Administration has taken important steps, but more needs to be done to close the "skills gap." ITI said the President should remind the public that that is a collaborative effort, and also propose immigration policies that allow high tech smarts into the country to study and then tap that expertise for U.S. innovation.

5. Spectrum, 5G networks, and broadband expansion 

ITI cited the President's Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence and said he should talk about building on that commitment to create and deploy new tech, particularly focused on making more spectrum available for 5G. "More can be done to free unused spectrum," said Oxman.

ABC News has not announced its coverage. But according to someone familiar with its streaming plans, the coverage on ABC News Live, the network’s 24/7 streaming news channel, will be anchored by World News Tonight Weekend anchor and Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas. That livestream will begin at 8 p.m., with a recap and analysis Wednesday on social media newscast On Affairs exclusively for Facebook Watch. In addition, FiveThirtyEight will have a preview of the speech. ABCNews.com will also livestream the speech.

CBSN, CBS News' live, 24/7 streaming service, will wrap its coverage around a 9-11 p.m. stream of the network's broadcast feed of the speech itself, anchored by CBS Evening News' Norah O'Donnell. CBSN's live pre- and post-speech coverage will be anchored by Tanya Rivero beginning at 5 p.m., with Elaine Quijano leading coverage from 6-9 p.m. Quijano will also anchor the post-address coverage.

CBSN is available at cbsnews.com/live or on the CBS News app for mobile devices.

NBC's streaming service, NBC News Now will begin its coverage at 8 p.m., then stream the broadcast coverage at 9-11 p.m., anchored by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie.

NBCNews.com will also live stream the speech, plus make an audio streaming version available to TuneIn.

Foxnews.com will have a dedicated landing page devoted to reporting on the speech and feature a live blog updated throughout the speech, which will be livestreamed, followed by reaction from lawmakers and others.

The Wire asked some other presidents (and one chairman) for their quick take on the State of the Media Union (SOTMU).

That would be the presidents of some major media trade associations around the nation’s capital.

Disruptive incentive auctions, Title II net-neutrality rules and online piracy notwithstanding, like President Obama, they were unanimous in their assessments that their respective industries are strong, if sometimes challenged by the Washington powers that be. Here are highlights:

Michael Powell, president, National Cable & Telecommunications Association: “As technology is transforming consumer experiences and expectations, the cable industry faces challenges, but most of them provide exciting opportunities to remake the industry for the future. That transformation is now underway. The continuing Internet revolution is defining the future for both operators and programmers. By driving towards widely available Gigabit Internet speeds by 2017 and deploying cutting-edge Wi-Fi connectivity, America’s Internet is being accelerated and untethered. And consumers are being liberated from their living rooms by programming that is being delivered by apps and made available on every screen for viewing anytime and anywhere.

“We are also committed to improved customer service that meets the needs of today’s tech savvy consumers. By delivering on the promise of this better future, cable will remain relevant and strong.”

Matt Polka, president, American Cable Association: “ACA members see broadband as their future and are focused on at least two issues. One is stressing to Washington policymakers the need to ensure that the independent cable operators can continue to invest in their networks to satisfy surging consumer demand unfettered by burdensome regulations. The Federal Communications Commission’s decision last year to impose Title II regulation on Internet Service Providers was a serious setback, particularly for smaller ISPs that sought, but did not receive, legitimate exemptions from the most onerous features of the FCC’s new common-carrier requirements.

“The other is the ‘cable-ization or content-ization’ of broadband — the concern that powerful edge-content providers (I won’t mention any names, but you probably know who I mean) will withhold their services from consumers until ISPs have signed contracts requiring the payment of per-broadband subscriber fees at the wholesale level. This would be the broken, inflexible and costly cable business model grafted onto the Internet, happening at a time when the big video bundle is already crumbling. Good heavens, that’s the last thing consumers want or need, and ACA is hopeful that Washington policymakers will defend consumers forced to pay for online services they never use.”

Gordon Smith, president, National Association of Broadcasters: "Broadcasters have embraced changes in viewer attitudes and technologies to strengthen our indispensable role in the lives of the American people. Broadcast programming better reflects the multiculturalism of America, and we are employing a greater diversity of show creators, cast and crew members who were previously underrepresented in our industry. Local and network broadcasters are collaborating on new multimedia platforms to give viewers access to local and primetime programming wherever and whenever they want. Ratings are up for local and network news broadcasts, and we remain the definitive place for emergency information when other communications systems crash under capacity constraints. Marquee sporting events are now migrating back to broadcast TV, such as the British Open, professional boxing, and NBA and MLB games.

"The bottom line: Even in an era of unprecedented media fragmentation, broadcasters remain the King Kong of content and have a bright future ahead of us."

Chris Dodd, chairman, Motion Picture Association of America: “On the one hand, it’s been a phenomenal year at the box office, and the cinema experience endures as a popular form of entertainment that can bring people together. At the same time, audiences now have an extraordinary number of ways to access movies and TV shows on digital platforms in their home or on the go. The state of our industry is built on the fact that creativity and consumer choice are flourishing. It’s vital that we protect the core principles of copyright and free expression that have allowed this vibrant sector of our nation’s economy to thrive.”

— John Eggerton

History’s a Lot to Chew on for ‘Black Sails’s’ Stevenson

Ray Stevenson, who plays Blackbeard in the upcoming third season of Starz pirate drama Black Sails, is Volstagg in the “Thor” movies; was Stephen Hopkins in National Geographic Channel’s Mayflower miniseries Saints & Strangers; and turned the republic upside down as legionnaire Titus Pullo in HBO’s Rome.

The Wire wondered if he really loves playing historical/mythical characters.

In a phone chat from his home in sunny Ibiza, he turned the question around a bit. In a production like Black Sails or Saints & Strangers, where there’s “incredible attention to detail,” he said, then “there’s this richness in everything” that’s very appealing.

Also, he noted, Pullo was part of “the most advanced technological nation on Earth,” and Blackbeard commanded fullrigged naval ships that were marvels of their age, brilliantly executed in the “extremely realistic” Starz production.

“I do love the fact when it’s done well that you can just mine everyone from the props department, the armorers, the set designers, the costume designers,” he said. “I chew it up.”

Blackbeard is a newcomer to Black Sails but not to Nassau, The Bahamas, where the circa early-1700s series is fictionally based (it’s filmed in South Africa).

Edward Teach has returned, after eight years away, to try to reunite with former protégé Capt. Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) and go on to lead a pirate fleet together.

His initial approach, at least, is relatively quiet.

“You’ve got a character who is by nature larger than life and outside of the norm, but you don’t want it to put a crack into the established mise en scene of the series,” Stevenson explained. “You want it to be part of it and enhance it and challenge it, and create much more interesting situations.”

The Wire has no doubt Stephenson will stir things up in that powerful cast, led by Toby Stephens as Capt. Flint, when Black Sails returns Saturday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. on Starz.
— Kent Gibbons

Jan. 13 marks the third year in a row that the White House will be making top officials, including the President, Vice President and first Lady, available during a daylong (10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) social media opportunity to ask questions via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr and ex-West Wing and current Transparent actor Bradley Whitford was trying to help the White House drive Web traffic.

The day has been dubbed the virtual Big Block of Cheese Day, a reference to both an 1837 Andrew Jackson public open house featuring a 1,400-pound block of cheese, and to NBC's West wing, which referred the event and whose cast has been helping promote the event (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex_jJlv5HKk).

In an e-mail from the White House account Whitford, who played Josh Lyman in West Wing, pointed out that "in my gig on the show we hosted our very own day like this, so I've been around the cheese block a few times." He and urged those with questions about Tuesday night's State of the Union address to log on and weigh in at hashtag #BigBlockOfCheeseDay.

Whitford said he would be online for the event (@WhitfordBradley) as would the real-life version, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough (@Denis44), of his boss on the show.

Fox News Channel led the cable news sector on coverage of Tuesday’s State of the Union address from President Obama as viewership continued its downward trend, according to preliminary Nielsen data.

Fox News averaged 3.47 million viewers during the 9-10:15 p.m. (ET) speech, down 26% from last year; the network also dipped 29% among the adults 25-54 news demo to 834,168 of those watchers, falling behind CNN. Turner Broadcasting System's service was the only cable news network to see an increase from last year’s coverage, rising 36% to lead the news demo with 1.02 million; the network was also up 23% in total viewers with 2.56 million.

MSNBC suffered drops of 13% among total viewers to 1.99 million and 38% to 472,000 adults 25 to 54.

Collectively, the State of Union averaged 31.7 million viewers, down 5% from last year's 33.5 million, across 13 networks—CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, Azteca, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera America, Galavision and Mun2. Univision aired the speech on a tape delay.

Nielsen won’t release full viewership data until Thursday, which will include the broadcast networks. Last year’s speech was seen by 33.3 million viewers, the lowest since 2000.

Read more at B&Chere.

President Obama during his State of the Union address Tuesday night did not spend much time on broadband to which he had already devoted a speech last week, and the White House had already outlined his ambitious high-speed broadband plans, as well as actions to protect privacy and push cybersecurity.

The speech was mostly a valedictory vision of a better America through Democratic policies, or what CNN's John King called a left of center speech to a right of center Congress.

But the speech did include a number of communications-related issues, including network neutrality and at least a couple of mentions of high-speed broadband.

"I intend to protect a free and open internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks," the President said, "so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world."

He also talked about building infrastructure including "the fastest Internet."

On cybersecurity, he said: "No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids.  We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism.  And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information." He went off speech to emphasize that that should be a bipartisan effort. "If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe."

On government data collection: "As Americans, we cherish our civil liberties – and we need to uphold that commitment if we want maximum cooperation from other countries and industry in our fight against terrorist networks.  So while some have moved on from the debates over our surveillance programs, I haven’t.  As promised, our intelligence agencies have worked hard, with the recommendations of privacy advocates, to increase transparency and build more safeguards against potential abuse.  And next month, we’ll issue a report on how we’re keeping our promise to keep our country safe while strengthening privacy."

He took a shot at the flood of political ads post Citizens United. "A better politics is one where we spend less time drowning in dark money for ads that pull us into the gutter, and spend more time lifting young people up..."