What’s Next for Digital Trade?
For small firms in the app economy, business has always been global. Software developers, brand strategists, app makers, and other tech-focused small businesses sell products and services all over the world. Due to their inherently global nature, small companies competing in digital markets like ACT | The App Association members need strong protection through digital trade policies. Each year, digitally delivered services account for more than 10 percent of all global trade, amounting to $4.25 trillion annually. Digitally delivered [...]
An App Association Recap as Economics Has its Day in Court in FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Amazon
The court considering the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) antitrust lawsuit against Amazon scheduled an economics hearing for March 7, providing an opportunity for us to better understand the FTC’s economic thinking. A quick recap of our commentary on the case may help provide some context ahead of the hearing: The FTC’s market definition is arbitrary. From last year’s piece, Temu Complicates the FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Amazon: In order to succeed with an antitrust claim of monopolization, plaintiffs must [...]
American Government Hears DMA Complaints, Broadcasts Them to the World
For the past couple years, we’ve been sending up flares about the problems with the European Union’s (EU’s) onslaught of digital market regulation. We focused in particular on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), because of how thoroughly it restricts the curated online marketplace (COM) services small app companies leverage to reach global markets. Near the end of the last Administration, our advocacy yielded negative results. Not only did the United States Trade Representative (USTR) remove DMA from the list [...]
ACTivists for Change: An Open Letter to Policymakers in the European Union
Letter Summary In this letter, ACT | The App Association and a sampling of our European Union (EU)-based member companies urge EU policymakers to adopt forward-thinking, balanced regulatory frameworks that empower small businesses to thrive while addressing emerging risks. Our members are at the forefront of innovation across industries, but they face significant barriers due to fragmented regulations, licensing abuses, and a lack of intentional guidelines. We call on policymakers to prioritise fairness, scalability, and innovation in their actions [...]
ACTivists for Change: An Open Letter to Policymakers in the United States
ACT | The App Association and a sampling of our U.S.-based member companies urge U.S. policymakers to ensure that the regulatory environment empowers small businesses to thrive while addressing emerging risks. Our members are at the forefront of innovation that spans industries, however, they face significant barriers due to overregulation of emerging technologies, patent licensing abuses, and a lack of consistency across jurisdictions where they do business. We call on policymakers to ensure that small businesses and independent developers [...]