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The Engine Team
Startup News Digest 11/08/24

Startup policy outlook under second Trump term

Startup News Digest 11/08/24
#StartupsEverywhere
Emma Peters
#StartupsEverywhere: Los Angeles, Calif.

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. 

#StartupsEverywhere: Los Angeles, Calif.
#StartupsEverywhere
Emma Peters
#StartupsEverywhere: Philadelphia, Pa.

After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.

#StartupsEverywhere: Philadelphia, Pa.
#StartupsEverywhere
Emma Peters
#StartupsEverywhere: Bentonville, Ark.

Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more. 

#StartupsEverywhere: Bentonville, Ark.
#StartupsEverywhere
Emma Peters
#StartupsEverywhere: Anchorage, Alaska

Founded in 2017, 60Hertz set out to tackle critical challenges in maintaining microgrids and renewable energy systems, particularly in remote regions like Alaska. Now active in eight countries, the company provides advanced maintenance technology through its SaaS platform. In this blog post, we dive into 60Hertz’s journey, from early capital-raising hurdles to success with government grants, and explore the future goals of this innovative company.

#StartupsEverywhere: Anchorage, Alaska

CDA 230

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Trump Administration Ramps Up Pressure on Section 230

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Trump Administration Ramps Up Pressure on Section 230

TLDR: The Trump administration is pressuring federal agencies to comply with an executive order that would change a bedrock Internet law in order to address supposed bias from major Internet platforms. President Donald Trump has been pushing agency officials in recent months to weaken the framework—known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—that lets companies host and moderate users’ content without the fear of being sued into bankruptcy. While much of the attention around Section 230 focuses on major Internet companies, the law is especially critical for startups, which would be disproportionately impacted by policy changes in this space.

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Startup News Digest 08/07/20

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Startup News Digest 08/07/20

The Big Story: FCC takes next step on Trump’s social media executive order. A federal agency this week moved ahead with a petition from the Trump administration that could open up liability for companies that host user content. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said on Monday that the agency will receive public comments in response to President Donald Trump’s May executive order on “preventing online censorship” that pushes federal agencies to clarify the meaning of “good faith” content moderation under the law.

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Section 230 back in the spotlight

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Section 230 back in the spotlight

TLDR: The Trump administration and policymakers are putting growing pressure on a bedrock Internet law that allows companies of all sizes to host and moderate user-generated content. Startups depend on this framework—known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—to grow without the fear of being sued into bankruptcy over the user-generated content they host and moderate. Weakening this law would have a disastrous effect on the Internet ecosystem.

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Statement on Executive Order on Content Moderation

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Statement on Executive Order on Content Moderation

The White House’s executive order on “preventing online censorship” is a dangerous move that will encourage bad faith lawsuits, and dismantle the fundamental and commonsense legal framework that startups depend on to compete in today’s Internet ecosystem and keep their platforms free of objectionable content.

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Trade agreements give startups certainty

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Trade agreements give startups certainty

When the United States negotiates trade agreements, it has the chance to give startups a similar legal framework abroad that they rely on domestically. This is critically important for smaller companies looking to effectively compete in an increasingly global ecosystem. While Congress still has the ability to update that digital legal framework as it sees fit, the inclusion of digital trade protections in trade agreements gives startups the certainty they need to compete globally.

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Report: Nuts & Bolts of Content Moderation

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Report: Nuts & Bolts of Content Moderation

In this report, and through a series of events in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2019, Engine and the Charles Koch Institute sought to unpack the nuts and bolts of content moderation. We examined what everyday content moderation looks like for Internet platforms and the legal framework that makes that moderation possible, debunked myths about content moderation, and asked attendees to put themselves in the shoes of content moderators.

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Engine Statement On Sen. Wyden's FOSTA amendments

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The following can be attributed to Engine Executive Director Evan Engstrom:

"We applaud Sen. Wyden's work to address some of our concerns with this legislation. We all support efforts to stop sex trafficking, but it is important to do so in a way that doesn't create unintended consequences for smaller internet companies that feature user-generated content. Sen. Wyden's amendments would help clarify that companies honestly engaging in content moderation won't face unexpected or unfair liability. That would make it substantially easier for platforms to proactively contribute to the fight against sex trafficking without fear of negative consequences."

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Engine's Statement on House Rules Committee Consideration of H.R. 1865

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Engine's Statement on House Rules Committee Consideration of H.R. 1865

Engine's statement following the announcement from the House Committee on Rules to consider H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) on Monday, February 26th and the proposed amendment by Rep. Walters to include language from the Senate’s Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA)

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Engine Supports Changes to House Sex Trafficking Bill

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Engine Supports Changes to House Sex Trafficking Bill

Sex trafficking is a heinous and tragic crime. It requires a thoughtful solution that gives prosecutors the tools they need to seek justice for victims and enables the private sector to assist in identifying and dealing with bad actors.

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What They Are Saying About The Importance of Protecting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

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What They Are Saying About The Importance of Protecting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

As Congress continues to debate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and if it needs updating, we put together a guide of "What They Are Saying" about Section 230 and it's importance to the Internet ecosystem. 

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Our Takeaways from the Senate Hearing on SESTA

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Our Takeaways from the Senate Hearing on SESTA

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on a new bill aimed at making it easier to penalize websites and online services that facilitate sex-trafficking.

While much of the hearing focused on the bipartisan and unanimous agreement that sex-trafficking is a tragedy that needs to be addressed, some lawmakers and witnesses noted the potential unintended consequences of the Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act (S.1693) as currently drafted.

 

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