The Big Story: Big week for Biden’s broadband efforts
The Biden administration is honing in on broadband expansion this week with new partnerships with Internet providers to ensure low-cost broadband for low-income Americans and the kickoff of a program to make available $45 billion for state broadband initiatives. Reliable, accessible, affordable broadband is crucial to the startup ecosystem and innovators across the country.
Since taking office, the Biden administration has made commitments to narrow the digital divide in the U.S. and work towards ensuring individuals across the country have access to Internet access, including through the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the creation of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). This past Monday, the administration announced more efforts to make broadband accessible to ACP-eligible households, including through partnerships with Internet service providers to increase speeds and cut prices, a cross-agency strategy to inform ACP-eligible households about the program, and working with public interest organizations like Goodwill to do direct outreach and enrollment.
Also, this week, the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) announced its plans to implement the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which will steer billions of dollars to states to fund broadband efforts in underserved communities. Engine joined more than 30 groups in a letter to the NTIA urging the agency to prioritize oversight over state proposals and ensure low-cost options for all Americans as it rolls out the program.
Lack of broadband in rural and urban communities has historically denied underrepresented founders opportunities to succeed and contribute to the U.S. economy. In order to correct this, federal policymakers should continue the momentum to ensure that all households–and all current and potential startup founders–have access to affordable, reliable broadband.
Policy Roundup:
Federal court upholds Texas social media law over company, constitutional concerns. A federal appeals court ruled this week to uphold a controversial Texas social media law that would effectively prevent large Internet companies from moderating content on their platforms. Enacted last September, the law, among other things, prohibits Internet companies with more than 50 million users from moderating content based on the user’s “viewpoint” following complaints from Republican lawmakers about alleged anti-conservative bias online. The law, and a similar law in Florida, were challenged by two trade associations representing Internet companies, which argued that the laws violate the companies’ First Amendment rights to host—and not host—speech without government intervention. Federal courts kept the two laws from going into effect last year, but this week’s ruling means the Texas law can move forward.
Connecticut becomes the fifth state to pass privacy legislation. This week, Connecticut governor Ned Lamont signed the Connecticut Data Privacy Act into law, making Connecticut the fifth state to enact comprehensive privacy legislation in the country. The law is similar to the Colorado and Virginia privacy laws; though there are some key differences in its biometric data definition and how the law requires companies to develop mechanisms for consumers to revoke consent to having their data processed. Even minor differences in these laws create complexity for startups to track compliance requirements. With five states establishing their own privacy laws—and several more considering legislation—the patchwork of privacy rules continues to grow, adding costs for startups.
EU releases proposal requiring general monitoring, scanning. The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday new proposed legislation aimed at combatting the circulation of child sexual abuse material that would require online service providers to scan user messaging. The proposal has alarmed privacy and cybersecurity advocates who say it opens the door to general surveillance and could undermine end-to-end encryption. While the most extensive obligations are reserved for the largest companies, startups will also have to shoulder costly and unclear new burdens. The Commission says smaller companies will be given requisite software for free, but this does not account for the costs of integrating the software, implementing new processes, and responsiveness to regulator requests. Startups and other Internet companies already invest significantly in removing harmful and otherwise counterproductive user-generated content from their platforms, but the Commission’s approach risks burdening innovation and undermining users’ privacy and security.
Bedoya confirmed to FTC. On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), giving Chair Lina Khan a Democrat majority on the Commission. The restored majority will enable Khan to issue and enforce guidance, including around privacy and mergers, which could increase compliance costs and uncertainty for startups and make it harder for them to get acquired.
New study highlights consequences of GDPR for app market. A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper this week revealed the impact of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the mobile app ecosystem. Engine has long warned about the consequences of rules and regulations that can create compliance burdens that fall disproportionately on startups, including in the app ecosystem. The paper’s findings show that GDPR “induced the exit of about a third of available apps” and caused new apps entering the market to drop by around 50 percent.
Patent Pro Bono Program reaches record numbers for participation. On Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) announced the recipients of the 2021 Patent Pro Bono Achievement Certificate—with a record number of more than 125 patent practitioners recording more than 50 hours of service. The program, established under the 2011 America Invents Act, is a nationwide network of regional programs that helps match volunteer attorneys with under-resourced inventors, and has connected a diverse pool of over 3,400 innovators with legal advice. Learn more about the program here.
Startup Roundup:
#StartupsEverywhere: Denver, Colorado. George Hristov has found himself in a number of different roles within the startup ecosystem. Currently, he serves as Community Manager for Colorado Startups, a community-building organization for founders, investors, and others to develop their startup network and share resources that can help them in their career pursuits. We spoke with George about what led him to Colorado Startups, how they approach building their startup community, and how policymakers can help develop environments that encourage innovative entrepreneurship.
