ACT | The App Association congratulates the Honorable Laurie Locascio on her recent confirmation as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Under Director Locascio’s leadership, the App Association recommends NIST continue to prioritize standards, cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), and other areas that will support U.S. public and private efforts to identify, understand, refine, and guide technology innovation, particularly in underserved communities.

NIST can enable all small business innovators to succeed by helping to eliminate disparities and inequities that affect startup costs for minority-owned businesses through effective policies and collaborations. NIST can support job creation and growth for small companies in the app economy by:

  • Advancing a strong, fair, transparent standards system that will protect consumers while supporting U.S. small business entrepreneurs;
  • Improving NIST’s leading Cybersecurity Framework through continued collaboration with public and private interests;
  • Supporting good privacy-protecting practices and data stewardship through NIST’s Privacy Framework;
  • Supporting technology innovation through NIST Standards, Guidelines, and NIST Internal or Interagency Reports (NISTIRs);
  • Contributing to the development of emerging technologies (e.g., collaboratively developing NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework);
  • Joining with the Department of Justice and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in advancing a recently rewritten draft policy statement that describes remedies available for standard-essential patent (SEP) licensors that better reflects the state of federal law, and discourages the issuance of injunctions against would-be licensees of SEPs on antitrust grounds;
  • Advancing a coordinated and pro-competitive whole-of-government approach to standards and innovation policy that will advance U.S. competitiveness and advance equity; and
  • Expanding international leadership coordination and education activities through both bilateral interactions as well as through multilateral fora.

Read the submitted recommendations here.