The Big Story: Broad, diverse coalition underscores importance of Section 230. This week, Engine joined more than three dozen public interest organizations, academics, free expression advocates, industry associations, and companies in a letter highlighting the value of Section 230 in enabling users, community building, and expression online. The letter was sent to members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law ahead of a hearing Wednesday on Section 230, a foundational Internet law that enables platforms of all sizes to host and moderate user content without risking ruinous liability.
Startup News Digest 03/03/23
The Big Story: Congress looks to build momentum on privacy legislation. This week, a congressional subcommittee held a hearing exploring federal data privacy legislation, a top priority for startups. The hearing comes amid the emerging mosaic of state privacy laws that can create confusion and duplicative costs for startups. The hearing, held by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce, focused on building upon legislation that passed through the committee last Congress and explored several issues important to startups in the privacy debate, including whether to preempt state laws, whether to allow private rights of action, and how to properly scope requirements for small businesses and startups.
Startup News Digest 02/17/23
The Big Story: Section 230, privacy, encryption in crosshairs at kids safety hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on protecting children’s safety online, where lawmakers suggested changes to several issues important to startups, like Section 230, data privacy, and encryption. The wide-ranging proposals appear conceived with the largest tech companies in mind, but they would affect all Internet companies, especially startups. The hearing comes amid efforts from policymakers at all levels of government aimed at safeguarding young Internet users that could carry unintended negative consequences for startups without necessarily protecting children.
Startup News Digest 02/10/23
The Big Story: Hearings cast spotlight on capital access obstacles. Lawmakers heard from entrepreneurs and investors this week as they examined key issues impacting startups’ ability to access capital. The House Financial Services subcommittee held two hearings covering multiple legislative proposals, including efforts to expand the pool of accredited investors and changes to the structure of certain investment funds. Those changes, if enacted, would bring much needed diversity to the startup ecosystem’s investor pool and boost funding opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Startup News Digest 10/21/22
The Big Story: Judge strikes down Maryland tax on digital advertising. A Maryland judge struck down the U.S.’ first tax on digital advertising, which faced vocal challenges including from technology companies and would have resulted in taxed companies passing down its cost to customers, including startups. In a ruling on Monday, the court found the tax, implemented by Maryland lawmakers to raise revenue, unconstitutional and a violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
Startup News Digest 10/14/22
The Big Story: Proposed independent contractor rule could make hiring harder for startups. This week the Department of Labor (DoL) issued a proposed rule that is likely to impact how early-stage startups build their teams. The DoL’s proposed rule on worker classification would limit who can be considered an independent contractor and comes shortly after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced similar enforcement priorities for the gig economy. As we shared in a recent blog post, the rule could limit startup flexibility in their hiring decisions, which could particularly impact growing companies with lean budgets.
Startup News Digest 09/30/22
The Big Story: Network access fee debates heat up worldwide. This week, European telecom companies redoubled their push to make large Internet companies pay based on the traffic they generate, a policy that would undermine net neutrality principles and negatively impact the broader Internet ecosystem. The push comes after months of agitating by Internet service providers (ISPs) for the payments, called network access fees, and amid a growing number of jurisdictions that have taken steps toward such policies, including South Korea.
Startup News Digest 09/16/22
The Big Story: Startups are collateral as policymakers talk past each other on tech policy. Over the last week we’ve seen several tech policy conversations where contradictory, party-line talking points are on full display that—if taken seriously as policy ideas on everything from privacy, to national security, to content moderation, and more—would make life much harder for thousands of startups across the country. Lawmakers’ competing and mutually exclusive visions for the Internet doesn’t stop them from threatening policy changes that would alter the way tech companies, including startups, have to operate, however, as we highlight in a new blog post.
Startup News Digest 09/09/22
The Big Story: SBIR reauthorization remains at a standstill. Startups await the fate of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as lawmakers continue to deliberate its reauthorization ahead of its fast-approaching September 30 expiration. With fierce support from advocates and innovators—who recognize the positive impact the program has on the innovation ecosystem—alike, this critical funding stream for R&D and commercialization risks drying up without congressional action.
Startup News Digest 08/26/22
The Big Story: Biden administration unveils student loan relief plan. After months of deliberation, President Joe Biden announced a three-part plan aimed at easing student loan debt, a move that could lower barriers for entrepreneurship in the U.S. The announcement—fulfilling a 2020 campaign promise—will cancel up to $10,000 in federal student debt for many borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients for those that earn less than $125,000 per year or $250,000 for households. It also includes steps to cap monthly payments, improve the forgiveness programs for borrowers who work in public service, and increase accountability around skyrocketing college costs.
There’s a new bipartisan draft federal privacy law. What does it mean for startups?
Congress is taking steps towards a much-needed federal privacy law that could help protect consumers while creating consistent obligations for startups. This week, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection and commerce held a hearing discussing the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA). The ADPPA has support from key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers and would replace a state-by-state patchwork of privacy laws, helping startups by easing compliance costs and lowering barriers. Engine has been a longtime advocate for such a law and commends lawmakers for taking an important step in developing a federal privacy standard.
Startup News Digest 04/29/22
The Big Story: EU advances overhaul of content moderation rules. Early Saturday morning, the European Union reached an agreement on a final version of landmark legislation to govern online intermediaries hosting user content in the EU. The legislation, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), will build on existing EU law and create new obligations for companies—including startups—that will require additional staff, development of new tools, and attention toward compliance in order to serve users in the EU.
Startup News Digest 04/22/22
The Big Story: Startups should be prominent voice in merger guidelines re-write. This week, Engine submitted comments in response to a request for information (RFI) from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division on merger enforcement. The agencies issued the RFI in January as they move toward re-writing the merger guidelines, guidance that outlines how the agencies will analyze prospective mergers, which is traditionally relied on by the agencies, companies, and courts alike. Sound merger enforcement that mitigates illegal anticompetitive behavior is important for startup success, but policymakers must balance those potential harms with the benefits of acquisitions. If the new guidelines are too restrictive, they risk burdening legal transactions—including those of startups, thereby limiting startups’ exit opportunities and stemming the flow of capital in the startup ecosystem.
Startup News Digest 02/18/22
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.
Startup News Digest 02/11/22
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.
Startup News Digest 02/04/22
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.
Startup News Digest 01/28/22
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.
Startup News Digest 01/21/22
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.
Startup News Digest 01/14/22
Startup News Digest 01/07/22
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.