Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Commissioner Julie Brill will resign next week to join Hogan Lovells as a partner and co-director of its privacy and cybersecurity practice. In response to this news, Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT | The App Association released the following statement: Commissioner Brill has been a longtime advocate for privacy and consumer rights, and ACT | The App Association thanks her for six years of service at the FTC. Despite our occasional differences, [...]

Today, the Department of Justice was set to pursue its case to force Apple to weaken the security protections on the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino attackers. But, hours before the scheduled hearing, the Department of Justice asked the court to vacate the hearing, saying it had found an outside method to unlock the phone. In response, Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT | The App Association, released the following statement: When the Justice Department brought this case [...]

“We are happy to announce that Chelsea Thomas and David Maloney are joining the growing team at ACT | The App Association,” said executive director Morgan Reed. Chelsea Thomas, most recently of Apple’s government affairs team and former international trade advisor for the Senate Finance Committee, joins the organization as Vice President of Operations. David Maloney, former director of strategic partnerships and innovation at National League of Cities, also joins ACT | The App Association as its new Director of Membership [...]

In its latest attack on data security, the DOJ tried to suggest that Apple has given the Chinese government backdoors into its products. Sadly for this storyline, it’s merely an attempt to blur lines around the encryption debate. Specifically, the government claims: … Apple produced a modified iPhone for sale in mainland China that used a “WAPI” WiFi standard as required by the Chinese government… Apple was the first Western company to have its products use WAPI and “[t]hus, [Apple] [...]

3.14 marks a special date that ACT | The App Association celebrates every year. It's Pi Day, which coincides with the mathematical constant that has served as the basis for math and technology as we know it today. It also offers offers an opportunity to highlight the critical importance of computer science (CS) education. Over the past decade, enthusiasm for CS education has become a bit muted. Every year it becomes more difficult for companies to fill job openings for [...]

Today, ACT | The App Association helped launch the Computer Science Education Coalition, a diverse group of organizations and companies focused on expanding K-12 computer science education across the United States. The coalition is urging Congress to help fill critical tech sector jobs, and ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in innovation. Our membership is comprised of more than 5,000 app companies around the country. They actively express concerns felt within the industry and regularly come to Washington to [...]