Our weekly take on some of the biggest stories in startup and tech policy. To receive this weekly digest in your inbox, sign up at http://engine.is/digest
The Big Story: A win for net neutrality in California. This week, the California Senate voted 23-12 to approve a bill to reinstate strong net neutrality protections in the state. The bill—S.B. 822 from Sen. Scott Weiner—would restore the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality protections and ensure ISPs can’t circumvent those protections at interconnection points or by charging websites and other online services to be exempted from users’ data caps.
The FCC voted to repeal its net neutrality rules at the federal level in December. The federal repeal is set to go into effect on June 11. The U.S. Senate has already passed a resolution to reverse the FCC’s repeal, and members of the House are pushing to have a floor vote on the resolution.
In California, S.B. 822 now heads to the state Assembly, where lawmakers will continue to need to hear from startups across the state that rely on strong net neutrality protections. If you’re a startup in California, lend your voice to the fight to protect net neutrality and sign onto Engine’s letter in support of SB 822.
Policy Roundup:
The next EU privacy fight. Some in the tech industry are ringing alarms about the next European privacy regulation set to go into effect, ePrivacy, which deals with privacy around private online communications.
Cyber un-preparedness. A new report from the Office of Budget and Management highlights serious problems with federal agencies’ cyber preparedness.
SEC stops ICO fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced this week that it received a court order to stop a fraudulent initial coin offering by Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc.
No AT&T appeal. AT&T is no longer pursuing a court case challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s jurisdiction over telecommunications providers, putting an end to a case that could have left a regulatory gap for Internet service providers.
Startup Roundup:
#StartupsEverywhere: Newark, NJ. With offices in Newark, New Jersey and Park City, Utah, Jacob Kastof, chief operating officer and co-founder of UpChannel, understands diversity in startup ecosystems. There are unique challenges and advantages in each market: In Newark, the talent pool is outstanding, but with New York City just 15 minutes away, it can be hard to keep talent in New Jersey. Park City has a loyal talent pool with appealing tax credits, but the talent pool is much smaller. Despite the stark contrast in landscape, climate, and culture, these two cities have one thing in common. They are both hubs of American innovation with players that can offer policymakers perspectives from the country’s startup ecosystem.
Policy for Pied Piper. With the Pied Piper team of HBO’s Silicon Valley growing, we think through what policy issues the fictional startup would face.
Two asks from team Engine for startups.
Patents. Are you a patent holder? Have you been sued by a patent troll? Do you just think we should have reasonable patent laws? We would appreciate your help in collecting information on how patent policy impacts your startup. Please fill out our survey.
IER. Does your startup have someone you want to hire but can’t because of our immigration system? The Trump Administration reversed the International Entrepreneurial Rule, tell them why a Startup Visa would help your company grow.
