A Scroll Down Membership Lane: April 2026’s Member Mondays
ACT’s members drive the innovation that powers our digital world. Each month, through our Member Monday series, we showcase these trailblazing small businesses and their cutting-edge achievements. Behind every smart grid, EV fleet, and connected device is a dedicated team using technical standards to solve everyday problems, big and small. Yet, for startups and small tech companies, utilizing those standards isn’t straightforward. The current standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing system often overwhelms startups with unpredictable costs, opaque processes, and unbalanced [...]
Startups and SMEs Are Essential to the Digital Economy
Association for Competitive Technology Applications to Intervene in Digital Markets Act Cases Granted BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – In granting the Association for Competitive Technology’s (ACT) application to intervene in Case T-438/25, Case T-352/24, and T-359/25, collectively Apple Inc. v. European Commission, the General Court of the European Union has acknowledged the concerns of ACT’s members, European startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Commenting on the Court’s order confirming that ACT meets the legal requirements to intervene in the cases [...]
Why a DMA-Style Framework is the Wrong Answer for American Competition Policy
Panelists at the Hill briefing "The Case For and Against an American Digital Markets Act" on April 23, 2026 On April 23, the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) hosted a Hill briefing to examine whether the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) offers a model the United States should follow or a warning worth taking seriously. The discussion centered on new research from Satya Marar, a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and AI [...]
Navigating the New Space Regulatory Frontier
The space industry is entering a new era. Satellite broadband, low-Earth orbit constellations, remote sensing, direct-to-device connectivity, and emerging in-space services are moving from specialized applications into core digital infrastructure. These technologies can expand broadband access, strengthen emergency communications, support new business models, and improve resilience across the economy. That growth also raises hard regulatory questions. Policymakers must address spectrum access, licensing timelines, orbital debris, interference, space traffic coordination, remote sensing, and international market access. The challenge is to [...]
Developed EU + UK Tour: Going Behind the Rules Shaping Funding
Decisions made in Brussels, London, and other capitals around the globe increasingly shape whether startups can raise funds, access markets, and scale worldwide. When the rules of the road aren’t clear or keep shifting, they affect product timelines, increase costs, and make investors turn away. That’s true for early-stage founders trying to get to a first raise, and it’s true for scaling teams trying to expand into new markets. ACT exists to bridge the gap between startups and scaleups [...]