TLDR: The Federal Communications Commission and Internet service providers have taken steps to improve broadband access in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, seeking to promote increased connectivity across the U.S. network as more Americans rely on at-home broadband access.  

TLDR: A Senate panel this week is planning to discuss new legislation that calls for Internet companies to agree to yet-to-be-determined best practices around detecting and removing child sexual abuse materials or risk losing their critical intermediary liability protections. While startups and other online platforms share lawmakers’ desire to remove problematic and illegal user-generated content from their sites, the legislation—as currently drafted—threatens to disrupt the protections that have allowed the Internet ecosystem as we know it to thrive for more than two decades.  

TLDR: Senate legislation introduced late last week would tax certain employee stock options upon vesting, rather than upon exercise. Although the bill is ostensibly designed to curtail the tax benefits that CEOs and other high-level executives receive, the legislation would harm the startup community by targeting the stock-based incentives that new companies use to attract top-tier talent.

TLDR: The IRS is planning to hold a cryptocurrency summit next week as part of an effort to “balance taxpayer service with regulatory enforcement.” The summit comes as cryptocurrency firms continue to seek a defined regulatory framework to address lingering tax questions.

TLDR: As the Justice Department convenes a public workshop today to discuss Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, it’s important for policymakers to understand how the critical intermediary liability protections have allowed Internet platforms of all sizes to grow and succeed.

TLDR: The Senate is convening a hearing later today to discuss the law surrounding accusations of online copyright infringement. As it stands, online platforms (including startups) are not automatically liable for infringement based on content created or posted by their users. As the Senate reviews the law this year, it’s important to consider the interests of startups since changes in the law could create unreasonable burdens on fledgling companies. 

TLDR: House lawmakers are moving towards a vote on legislation that would threaten workers, startups, and larger companies alike by reclassifying many independent contractors as employees. The bill shares many concerning similarities with California’s “gig worker” law that went into effect at the beginning of the year and has drawn considerable pushback from the state’s startup community. 

TLDR: As countries continue to debate whether or not to levy digital services taxes on tech companies, several states are considering implementing their own digital tax measures. While the currently proposed state-level bills are unlikely to receive much traction, they demonstrate a growing willingness on the part of state representatives to levy their own taxes against online companies of all sizes. 

TLDR: The Department of Justice is continuing its push for tech companies to undermine their users’ security by building in intentional vulnerabilities. In the latest spat between Apple, Attorney General William Barr is claiming that the company is not helping officials unlock two iPhones belonging to the shooter in last month’s deadly shooting at a Florida naval air base, despite the fact that the older model devices can likely be accessed and Apple has already turned over the relevant data in its possession.

TLDR: Later this year, the Supreme Court will weigh in on a long-standing copyright dispute between Oracle and Google over the permissible use of application programming interfaces, or APIs. APIs are software interfaces that startups rely on to promote interoperability and reduce costs. If they were eligible for copyright protection, then companies that own the API copyrights would be able to prevent others from using those APIs without paying for a license. This week Engine filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that APIs should not be eligible for copyright protection, and in particular that extending copyright protections to APIs is an attempt to evade patent law in a way that would unduly harm startups and entrepreneurs.