Before policymakers regulate AI, they need to understand a fundamental technology: neural networks.
Congress needs to act on child care challenges
The video game industry is concentrated in a handful of locations, leaving incredible talent in underserved areas frequently overlooked. Ben Kvalo started Midwest Games to change that narrative, supporting underrepresented game developers because increasing diversity in game development leads to better products and bigger markets. Ben recently joined us to talk about Midwest Games, the challenges of raising capital in the Midwest, the importance of small developers in maintaining a healthy video game ecosystem, and the potential benefits of AI for the industry.
Engine statement on SCOTUS Decision in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton
Consumer weather models are too coarse for farms and conservancies that are large enough to occupy their own microclimates. Dr. Carlos Gaitan started Benchmark Labs to solve this problem, leveraging artificial intelligence to create custom weather models for farmers and conservators—helping them increase their crop yield and better manage their land. Carlos recently sat down with us to discuss Benchmark Labs, his experience as an immigrant founder, the value of government funding for startups, and how policymakers should approach AI policy.
The Big Story: Potential privacy bill back on the table. Policymakers across the aisle and in both chambers are restarting conversations about creating a long-awaited, comprehensive privacy bill. Conversations about a federal privacy bill aren’t new for this Congress, and the issue has remained a top priority for the startup ecosystem for years.
Big story: New copyright bill would increase cost, risk for startups that host user content. Last week, Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies Copyright Act of 2022—legislation that would amend Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). While the bill is ostensibly aimed at large Internet platforms, it would tee up complex and costly frameworks for Internet startups that encounter user-generated content like comments, reviews, or original artwork.
Big story: FCC digs into digital discrimination. This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to kickstart proceedings to tackle digital discrimination—the lack of reliable, accessible, and affordable broadband in certain communities across the country—which creates barriers for would-be startup founders, especially underrepresented founders.
The Big Story: Startups, tech groups, and more urge Congress to remove harmful trademark bill from innovation legislation. This week, Engine joined an expansive coalition of industry, civil society, and academic voices in urging Congress to remove a problematic bill that would dramatically shift the landscape for e-commerce startups and small, online businesses from must-pass legislative proposals.
The Big Story: Biden touches on tech during the State of the Union. During the annual State of the Union Address this week, President Joe Biden touched on several of the administration’s policy goals that will impact startup founders, investors, and support organizations across the country.
The Big Story: Celebrating Black founders, calling for a more equitable ecosystem. Black startup founders across the country are a crucial part of the startup ecosystem, despite the many barriers they face. As Black history month draws to a close, Engine wanted to recognize some of the important contributions of Black founders in our network and urge policymakers to advance policy solutions that create more opportunities for underrepresented founders, especially Black founders.
The Big Story: Over 100 startups, investors, organizations defend QSBS tax treatment. This week, more than 100 startups, startup investors, and startup support organizations sent a letter to Congress urging them to preserve the current tax treatment of Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), which helps startups attract early-stage investment and employees.
Last month, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued his annual report on the Federal Judiciary, in part highlighting growing concerns about judicial assignment of patent cases—concerns connected to a rapidly growing number of lawsuits being filed by so-called “patent trolls” in one court in Waco, Texas. This year the Judicial Conference of the United States will study the issue of how judicial assignment policies in federal trial courts are enabling plaintiffs to pick judges in a way that is driving up the volume of litigation and undermining confidence in the system.
The Big Story: EARN IT Act moves forward despite concerns from lawmakers, advocates, and industry. A bill moving through the Senate would amend critical Internet legal frameworks that startups rely on to host user-generated content and disincentivize startups from using privacy and security-enhancing measures like encryption.
The Big Story: The startup policy priorities for 2022. This week, Engine released its 2022 Startup Agenda, highlighting the policy priorities of the U.S. startup ecosystem and featuring startups across the country explaining the ways policy can support them. As we explain in the agenda, there are startups in every state and every congressional district. There are startups that have all kinds of business models and rely on all types of funding. There are startups that operate in every sector of U.S. industry. And all of them will be impacted by policymakers' decisions across a range of issues.
The Big Story: America COMPETES is a mixed bag for startups. The new sweeping House package aimed at boosting American competitiveness and innovation has several provisions that would dramatically improve the startup ecosystem, but the bill also includes an unrelated bill that would harm e-commerce startups.
The Big Story: 10 years later, SOPA has lessons for startup policy. This week, we’re reflecting on copyright policy’s past as well as the impact it will continue to have on innovation, and what that all means for high-tech, high-growth startups and the Internet users and creators that depend on them. Engine, alongside many organizations, remembered and commemorated the 10 year anniversary of the defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) with conversations of what balanced, innovation-friendly copyright policy looks like for startups and small businesses.
The Big Story: Changes to copyright rules would hurt news, commentary startups, and free expression. As a few countries adopt or consider laws that would require websites to pay whenever they—or their users—link to or quote a news article, the U.S. Copyright Office is studying what those sorts of laws would mean here. In comments this week, Engine emphasized the substantial unintended consequences of such policies, which would not just alter how information is shared and communicated online, but cause problems for startups and innovation.
The Big Story: Congress talks online content, but startups are sidelined. As Congress continues the drumbeat of complaints about user-generated content on the Internet, the conversation misses the realities of content moderation and the role content moderation plays for startups.
The Big Story: Startups watch as Congress considers tech nominees. This week, Senate committees weighed in on several individuals President Joe Biden nominated to key tech leadership roles, shedding some light on the direction the nominees might take to support startup innovators. In a series of hearings, Senators considered acting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, as well as Alan Davidson, who was nominated to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya, and Kathi Vidal, who was nominated to lead the Patent and Trademark Office.
The Big Story: Making the startup ecosystem more equitable. Startup founders with innovative ideas should have the chance to succeed, no matter where they’re located or what they look like. But too often, underrepresented founders—including women and founders of color—are denied the opportunity to get investments, launch, and grow. This week, Engine released an assessment of barriers that underrepresented founders face as well as policy proposals to alleviate those barriers.
The Big Story: Immigration in play in reconciliation bill, but path unclear. As the House eyes a path forward on the reconciliation bill, newly-added language would create temporary protections for millions of undocumented immigrants, which could make it easier for foreign-born innovators, founders, and STEM talent to stay and work in the U.S.
The Big Story: Biden puts up key tech, telecom nominees. This week, President Biden announced several long-awaited nominations that, if confirmed, will serve key roles in setting technology and telecom policies that impact the startup ecosystem.
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