The Big Story: Court hears arguments on net neutrality
Protections against Internet providers from charging startups for equal access to users were back in court this week. On Thursday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the lawsuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules, issued earlier this year. The rules would keep the Internet a level playing field for startups with limited budgets by preventing Internet service providers (ISPs) from slowing access to certain websites or services. Engine has long advocated for strong net neutrality protections and supported the FCC’s move to reinstate the Obama-era 2015 Open Internet rules, which were repealed in 2017.
In September, Engine and Internet industry trade group INCOMPAS filed a joint amicus brief detailing how critical net neutrality is for online companies, as the rules support innovation, competition, and investment in the Internet ecosystem. The brief emphasizes the need for net neutrality protections preventing Internet companies—especially startups, which often lack the resources to pay for preferential treatment—from being disadvantaged or blocked.
Net neutrality protections are essential for ensuring that startups can reach users without facing barriers like blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization imposed by ISPs. Given their limited time and financial resources, startups can’t afford to pay for preferential treatment or negotiate with large ISPs, making these protections critical to maintaining a fair, open Internet that supports innovation and competition.
Policy Roundup:
Tech industry groups challenge Florida age-gating law. On Monday, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice filed a lawsuit challenging a Florida law passed earlier this year that restricts minors from accessing certain Internet services. Florida is one of many states creating new obligations for Internet companies that may have young users, including determining the age of users through “reasonable age verification.” For startups, age verification requirements strain budgets, heighten cybersecurity risks, compromise user experience, and undermine competitiveness.
Green Cards for international graduates is a bipartisan issue. Regardless of the outcome of next week’s election, green cards for international graduates remains a policy with bipartisan support that Congress must address to support U.S. innovation and competitiveness, we wrote in a new op-ed with Watson Immigration Law founder Tahmina Watson this week. The proposal to grant green cards to international graduates is a chance for policymakers to find common ground with targeted immigration reform. Allowing foreign-born graduates to stay and work in the U.S. is critical to addressing existing talent shortages. For example, the CHIPS and Science Act requires over 230,000 additional workers, making immigrant talent vital to its success in sustaining industries from cell phones to critical infrastructure. Over 70 former national security officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations have urged Congress to create new pathways for STEM experts to come to the U.S.
One year anniversary of AI executive order. This Wednesday marked one year since President Joe Biden signed an executive order on artificial intelligence that prompted a flurry of activity from federal agencies in the form of studies, guidance, resources and more. That has included key activities supporting the startup and broader AI ecosystem, like clarifying visa rules to bring in needed talent and establishing a pilot of the National AI Research Resource. Those steps should be followed by action from Congress to expand immigration pathways and permanently authorize the resource.
AI Essentials: What are transformers? This week, we expanded our AI Essentials series with a new blog post examining transformers, the model architecture behind most recent advancements in AI. Transformers are efficient because they can analyze multiple inputs in parallel and are adaptable across a range of uses. These features make the models ripe for startups to innovate on top of while using fewer resources—key advantages when budgets and timeframes are tight.
Startup Roundup:
#StartupsEverywhere: Los Angeles, California. Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
