“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
President Joe Biden offered the nation a sense of hope and unity during his inaugural address as he and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on Wednesday. Harris became the first woman and first woman of color to be vice president. Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s ceremony in the realm of technology, innovation and science:
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In his speech, Biden spoke about the misinformation crisis. “We must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated, and even manufactured,” he said. The president also spoke of a “climate in crisis.”
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Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman became an instant star with her reading of “The Hill We Climb.” The 22-year-old gained hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers after her appearance.
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Twitter transitioned official administration accounts to new handles — see them here.
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The official White House website has a new look with an optional “dark mode.”
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While much of Twitter turned teary eyed or especially hopeful, the comedy didn’t miss a beat. Sen. Bernie Sanders — with his envelope and mittens — was among the most meme-worthy attendees.
Biden has plenty of work ahead with a raging pandemic and a divided nation. Some of the more pressing tech-related issues on his plate include reigning in the power of Big Tech; addressing Section 230 and online speech; the digital divide; and more. We spoke with tech policy leaders to learn what they are watching, and expecting, as Biden takes office.
Amazon, Parler and Section 230: By running to federal court to complain it’s been wrongly deplatformed by Amazon Web Services, social media platform Parler now finds itself making the same argument aired by users who migrated to Parler after being deplatformed by Facebook or Twitter. In this highlight from his “Wild West” newsletter, Seattle-based journalist Eli Sanders addresses how AWS is using Section 230 as a legal sword against Parler.
One man’s quest for the COVID-19 vaccine: Trying to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine on the day that eligibility was expanded to new age groups in Washington state would be a familiar experience to anyone who’s tried to get a hot movie ticket, a cheap airfare or season tickets to Seattle Kraken hockey games. GeekWire contributing editor Alan Boyle shares his experience and offers up some tips
Thanks for reading, and see all our latest headlines below. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.
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