SHOP SAFE is back despite threats to startups
Startup News Digest 09/29/23
Startup News Digest 09/22/23
Startup News Digest 09/15/23
Startup News Digest 09/08/23
Startup News Digest 08/25/23
Startup News Digest 08/18/23
Startup News Digest 08/11/23
Startup News Digest 08/04/23
The Big Story: Bipartisan legislation to build AI resource for startups, researchers. A recently introduced bill would create government AI resources for startups and bolster needed talent in the field. The bipartisan bill—the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023 (CREATE AI Act)—formally establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) which will provide compute, datasets, and educational resources for startups, students, and academics. The legislation comes amid rapid growth of AI technology and will improve the competitiveness of U.S. startups.
Startup News Digest 07/28/23
The Big Story: Senate advances bills requiring user data collection, limiting legal content online. This week, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced two bills that carry serious risks for cybersecurity, user privacy, and third-party content available on startups’ services. The legislation, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), though well-intentioned, will increase costs of compliance, undermine startup competitiveness, and diminish user experience, as we highlighted in a letter ahead of the committee markup.
Startup News Digest 07/21/23
The Big Story: Policymakers threaten successful startup exits, investment. This week, federal agencies released new draft guidelines for merger enforcement that could reduce the number of acquisitions and negatively impact the ability of startups to successfully exit. The new draft guidelines come amid a parallel effort to revise the filing process for larger transactions, adding costs and new burdens to those acquisitions. Taken together, the agencies’ actions are designed to limit acquisitions, which are critical to investment and successful exits in the startup ecosystem.
Paying twice? The persistent proposal that could upend the Internet and increase startup costs
Last month, a majority of the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution contemplating a policy framework that could diminish startup competitiveness and endanger the open Internet. The vote is the latest in a long-running effort by telecom companies to force websites and apps to pay them based on the traffic they generate. That model, sometimes called “sender pays,” is gaining popularity with policymakers throughout the world—including in the U.S.—threatening net neutrality principles and the competitiveness of U.S. startups.
Startup News Digest 07/14/23
The Big Story: EU, U.S. implement framework to restore transatlantic data transfers. The European Commission this week adopted a needed decision to implement the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, bringing certainty back to transatlantic data transfers and lowering barriers for startups. The long-awaited agreement ends years of uncertainty surrounding data flows needed for U.S. startups to serve EU customers thanks to the invalidation of an earlier transfer agreement called Privacy Shield. The new framework is a welcome step that will bolster the competitiveness of U.S. startups looking to serve the EU market.
Engine submits comments to FTC on proposed non-compete ban
Engine is a non-profit technology policy, research, and advocacy organization that bridges the gap between policymakers and startups. Engine works with government and a community of thousands of high-technology, growth-oriented startups across the nation to support the development of technology entrepreneurship through economic research, policy analysis, and advocacy on local and national issues. Engine appreciates the opportunity to submit this response to the Federal Trade Commission’s request for comment on the Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking banning most non-compete clauses in employment contracts.
Startups Should be a Focus in US-EU Tech Talks
The Nuts & Bolts of Competing Globally: How Startups Compete Abroad
The Internet has transformed the modern economy, led to new technological developments, and given rise to digital trade. Internet-enabled companies are able to reach users and customers across the globe without a brick-and-mortar place of business, but non-tariff barriers — such as forced data localization, imbalanced copyright law, and various restrictions on user speech — can prevent startups from competing abroad.
