ACT Hosts Panel Today on New COPPA Proposed Rule
The Association for Competitive Technology and the Family Online Safety Institute will host a panel discussion today to brief lawmakers, staff, and interested parties about the FTC's amended proposed changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). On August 1, the FTC released a supplementary notice of proposed rulemaking, following up on its proposed rule from September 2011. Since indicating its intention to update COPPA last fall, the Commission has received comments and testimony from a wide range of [...]
Long Tail Commands Lion’s Share of App Revenues
App Analytics company, Flurry, came out with the results of a study about the changing dynamics of app revenue and uncovered some interesting details about the impact small app companies are having on the overall ecosystem. Studying revenue data, Flurry sought to determine how much the top ranked apps accounted for total sales. While two years ago the apps in the top 100 netted more than half of total industry revenues, the latest figures show that percentage shrinking dramatically to [...]
New FTC COPPA Amended Proposal Offers Helpful Changes, But More Work Remains
The FTC deserves praise for listening to industry and advocacy concerns over its proposed amended rule on children's online privacy. Some of the specific points ACT raised in meetings with the Commission were included in its addended rule released on Wednesday. There is still room for improvement and clarity on other outstanding issues which is to be expected. The rulemaking process involves considerable interaction between the regulators and stakeholders, and for issues like this involving a high level of technical [...]
ACT emphasises the need for an EU Patent
Jonathan Zuck highlights today in Science Business that while recent progress has been encouraging, the MEPs’ decision not to vote on the single European Patent leaves innovative businesses without the historic breakthrough they so desperately need. The EU patent is a critical step towards a more innovation-friendly business environment that realises the European Union’s true potential.Without a deal we will not realise that potential. European innovative businesses will continue to be burdened with unnecessary costs and unpredictability, undermining their ability [...]
Huffington Post: Silicon America: 5 Startup Economies Keeping it Real and Bringing it Back
Huffington Post, Silicon America: 5 Startup Economies Keeping it Real and Bringing it Back Despite its ridiculously frigid and long-term winters, those "salt of the earth" Minnesotans are not effing around for one minute when it comes to getting their gigantic, Nordic-ancestral hands into the startup pot. What was once known as "Mall Capital of the World" (Ah-hem, Mall of America fans unite) is now a testing ground for the convergence of tech and retail. Minnesota-born-and-raised Ahmed Siddiqui has an [...]
Testimony of Morgan Reed, Hearing on Where the Jobs Are
The submitted testimony of Morgan reed before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade at the hearing on “Where the Jobs Are: Moving the Economy with Mobile Apps" [pl_button type="info" link="http://actonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/HEC-CMT-Morgan-Reed-Testimony-July-20-copy.pdf" target="blank"]Read Full Testimony[/pl_button]