'You are the future,' Joe Biden tells digital creators at White House gathering

Clyde Hughes & Chris Benson
·4 min read
Guests on Wednesday took selfies while U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
Guests on Wednesday took selfies while U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Wednesday hosted at least 100 digital creators and industry professionals who took part with high-level government officials in the first-ever Creator Economy Conference for content curators.

The digital creators' conference joined together online creators from across the U.S. to address artificial intelligence, mental health issues and pay equity, among other issues, officials said.

President Joe Biden made an appearance at the event along with key officials such as Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and Christian Tom, director of the Office of Digital Strategy and Tericka Lambert, the deputy director.

"You are the future," Biden told visiting guests inside the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. "You are the new possibilities. You are the breakthrough in how we communicate."

Roughly 50 million people globally work as content creators on the Internet. The creator economy represents an estimated $250 billion and is looked at to become by 2027 a $480 billion industry, Goldman Sachs said last year.

“You are the future,” President Joe Biden told the crowd of 100 digital creators on Wednesday in Washington. “You are the new possibilities. You are the breakthrough in how we communicate.” Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
“You are the future,” President Joe Biden told the crowd of 100 digital creators on Wednesday in Washington. “You are the new possibilities. You are the breakthrough in how we communicate.” Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

"That's why I've invited you to the White House, because I'm looking for a job," Biden, who leaves office in January, joked.

A tech policy lawyer who attended Wednesday's White House conference says events like that "are given a voice in D.C. that more traditional entertainment and media groups have had for decades."

“That’s why I’ve invited you to the White House, because I’m looking for a job,” President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, said jokingly on Wednesday during his remarks at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in Washington, D.C. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
“That’s why I’ve invited you to the White House, because I’m looking for a job,” President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, said jokingly on Wednesday during his remarks at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in Washington, D.C. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

"The law and policy issues facing creators, brands, and platforms in the creator economy are much more nuanced and often unaddressed by existing regulations or agency actions," Franklin Graves told CNBC.

The White House previously said ahead of Wednesday's event how high-level administration officials have been taking "extensive" steps to engage digital creators, pointing to "hosting regular virtual and in-person briefings with digital creators on policy issues, hosting State of the Union watch events for creators at the White House, and, last year, hosting the first-ever White House Holiday Party for digital creators," according to The Hill.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Wednesday at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in Washington. Roughly 50 million people globally work as content creators. The creator economy represents an estimated $250 billion and is looked at to become by 2027 a $480 billion industry. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Wednesday at the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in Washington. Roughly 50 million people globally work as content creators. The creator economy represents an estimated $250 billion and is looked at to become by 2027 a $480 billion industry. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI

The summit comes after Biden had signed a law that would force ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular social media platoform TikTok, to divest from the platform within a year or be faced with a ban, which has prompted lawsuits from ByteDance and TikTok creators.

The deadline to sell TikTok or be banned in the United States enables the app to continue through the Nov. 5 general election.

The former Biden presidential campaign, just prior to the law, registered a TikTok account and posted content. Former President Donald Trump's campaign also signed-up and Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee, also embraced the platform after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her candidacy

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported in early August that RNC officials for July's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee had issued more than 70 credentials to online influencers, while the Democratic National Convention in Chicago set to begin Monday has so far issued credentials to more than 200 digital creators.

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