Time is ticking to get votes in for panels at South By Southwest 2017 (SXSW) – the annual tech, film, and music festival in Austin, Texas. ACT | The App Association has two proposals out for panels featuring leaders from the app industry and media. See below for more details – we’d love your support and hope to see you in Austin next March! Fixing the Talent Shortage Before It's Too Late Technology companies want to hire the next generation of software [...]

Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) confirmed that its oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) would expire on September 30, 2016, and that the International Corporation of Names and Numbers (ICANN) had the appropriate accountability mechanisms in place for the transition to be completed. In response to today’s announcement, Jonathan Zuck, president of ACT | The App Association and leading voice on accountability design in the ICANN community, released the following statement: We commend NTIA’s decision to move [...]

There are currently more than 47,000 homeless veterans in the United States – and another 1.4 million are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support, and poor living conditions. By nature, it’s difficult to contact homeless veterans, especially if they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse (SU). Even though there are federally-funded programs that help provide safe housing, physical and mental healthcare, and career services to veterans, they are seemingly invisible to those that [...]

Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance for mobile health devices and apps intended for general wellness. The guidance provides much needed clarity for app makers in the connected health space. In response, Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT | The App Association and director of Connected Health Initiative, released the following statement: App makers welcome this guidance from the FDA. One of the biggest challenges for companies in the wellness space is understanding how and when their technology [...]

Next week the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield goes into effect, providing a streamlined program for American companies to efficiently – and legally – transfer user data from the EU. Here’s everything you should know about how it came to be, and how to participate: The Backstory In 1998, the European Commission forbade the transfer of personal data outside the European Union (EU) to countries that failed to meet “adequate” privacy protections. This directive impacted every American company that transferred user data [...]

The nation’s healthcare system is in the middle of a major transition – one that, if done well, will have an incredible impact on the lives of millions Americans who rely on Medicare. The $900 billion federal program provides health insurance for Americans over 65 and others who suffer from certain conditions and diseases. For a long time, Medicare has had a reputation for being bureaucratic, lethargic, wasteful, and outdated. Further, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which [...]