Congress charges ahead on ‘kids’ safety,’ despite tradeoffs
Lawmakers in Congress and in state legislatures are under pressure from parents and advocacy groups to change Internet law to “keep kids safe online”.
The fate of some of the largest broadband subsidy programs, key to bridging the digital divide for all consumers, including startups and their users, depends on the outcome of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) v. Consumers’ Research case before the Supreme Court.
This blog continues our series called “AI Essentials,” which aims to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding AI-related topics. It discusses what a foundation model is, how startups are leveraging them to drive greater innovation in the AI ecosystem, and what policymakers need to keep in mind.
John Starke’s career in manufacturing cultivated a passion for quality control and computer vision technology that led to the founding of MyMatR. Focused on smarter waste disposal, MyMatR empowers individuals to make informed decisions about waste with AI-powered solutions. We sat down with the MyMatR CEO to discuss his innovative product, the future of manufacturing, and more.
Last week, Congress voted to advance the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill which promises to benefit startups by directing an unprecedented $65 billion for broadband development. This news comes at a time where many businesses are more dependent on Internet access than ever. Yet, there are still approximately 30 million Americans who lack broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds.
European policymakers concerned about the risks posed by human biases entering Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems introduced a draft proposal earlier this year that would govern AI within the European Union and American startups operating there. Eliminating bias in AI is necessary to protect human rights, and balanced regulation can provide the legal certainty required to foster socially-beneficial innovation. However, the proposed AI law misses this mark in its current form and instead discourages the uptake of AI in the EU and threatens the vitality of AI startups on both sides of the Atlantic.
As part of its sweeping, must-pass infrastructure bill, the Senate is debating a provision that would create compliance burdens and data collection requirements for members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, including many startups.. While the language in the bill is meant to target tax evasion in cryptocurrency trading, if enacted, the provision could have broad, unintended consequences.
The Big Story: LIKE Act provides hope for startup visas
A new bill in Congress would create more opportunities for foreign-born innovators and strengthen our diverse startup ecosystem. This week, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, introduced the Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment (LIKE) Act, legislation that would enable foreign-born innovators who meet certain investment benchmarks to embark on their entrepreneurial endeavors in the U.S., while also providing them with a pathway to permanent residency. A startup visa is more critical than ever, as other countries continue to attract founders through visas and investment in entrepreneurial infrastructure.
The Big Story: Patent Quality Week examines startups’ need for balance. Today we close out our inaugural Patent Quality Week where we partnered with numerous organizations to showcase the importance of patent quality from a variety of perspectives and industries.
This week, during the inaugural Patent Quality Week, Engine, the Consumer Technology Association, and ACT | The App Association hosted a webinar to allow more of you to hear directly from these startup leaders across the country about the exciting work they are doing, and about how patents and abusive patent assertion affect their ability to grow and succeed.
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.
A ruling from a federal judge last week is disrupting an immigration program for individuals brought to the U.S. as minors, that entrepreneurs — among many others — have relied on in recent years. The ruling from a Texas district court found the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) unlawful and blocks the administration from approving new applications. It is essential that policymakers implement a permanent solution, which includes a pathway to citizenship, for this community, because failing to do so can mean abandoning a critical source of U.S.-educated talent.
Countries around the world are attracting innovators and entrepreneurs with pro-startup immigration policies, and Congress is beginning to take notice. This week, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on international talent loss to U.S. competitors, including Canada. Though the U.S. is a target destination for immigrant entrepreneurs looking to launch startups, other nations with more favorable immigration policies — including startup visas and considerable investments in entrepreneurial infrastructure and R&D — are quickly becoming hotspots for international talent. If we are to remain competitive and at the forefront of innovation, it is essential that policymakers reform immigration law so entrepreneurs can have access to the opportunities and talent they need to launch and grow their businesses in the U.S. instead.
The Big Story: As Congress pushes ahead on infrastructure, startups stand to gain. Congress has the chance to move the ball forward on an infrastructure package that if passed, would provide billions of dollars for several categories of infrastructure, including roads and bridges, electric vehicles, cybersecurity, and broadband—a major win for startups.
Lawmakers and borrowers are pushing for further student loan relief, as the October 1 date approaches for the resumption of loan payments. Borrowers continue to assert that they are not yet in a place to make payments, which were paused interest free throughout the pandemic. And while the Biden administration has repeatedly argued for student debt forgiveness and fixes to the system, little progress has been made since he took office.
The Big Story: Global leaders land on tax deal that would create certainty for tech. Negotiations on a global tax regime came to a close on Thursday, with 130 countries and jurisdictions—including India, China, and Switzerland—agreeing to a deal supported by U.S. policymakers and technology companies that targets the world’s largest companies.
Every day, people use the Internet to create and share content with others across the globe—and those users, and the Internet companies they rely on, each depend on a copyright framework some policymakers are looking to change. Specifically, a few members of Congress indicated they may be willing to re-open Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Unfortunately, the policy debate mostly revolves around large companies—both big tech companies and Internet platforms as well as large rightsholders in traditional content industries, like mainstream music or movies. But this area of the law is critical to all types of companies, Internet users, and creators. This post attempts to unpack some recent proposals, in an effort to help more stakeholders—especially tech startups—understand what is happening.
In letters this week to key congressional panels, Engine outlined startup-forward principles and priorities that we hope will guide Congress’s work on patent and copyright law this year. We wrote to the leaders of the Senate’s IP Subcommittee and the House Subcommittee on Courts, IP, and the Internet, encouraging each Subcommittee to promote and preserve balanced IP frameworks, emphasize patent quality, stress modernization, and advance diversity and inclusion.
It may sound like a cliched talking point, but it’s true—small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. And that includes the small businesses of the technology sector, the thousands of innovative, tech-enabled, high-growth companies across the country that make up the U.S. startup ecosystem.
In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Engine outlines principles we hope will guide the incoming administration’s selection of the next director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The full text of our letter is below.
The Digital Copyright Act of 2021 from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) proposes changes to copyright law that would be bad for startups that host user-generated content and the everyday Internet users and Internet-enabled creators they serve. As currently drafted, the bill would disrupt a statutory framework at the foundation of innovation, creative expression, and economic growth that would not have been possible twenty-five years ago.
We are disappointed by Congress’s decision to include controversial copyright legislation in the must-pass omnibus spending bill. As Engine and several smaller Internet platforms expressed earlier this month, “the CASE Act—as currently drafted—will be fundamentally unfair to and create substantial confusion for” everyday Internet users, small businesses, and Internet-enabled creators across the country. That bill would create an extra-judicial board where certain copyright holders could seek substantial damages—up to $30,000—over alleged copyright infringement.
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
