Understanding the Cyber Resilience Act: What the CRA Means for Europe’s App Economy
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) aims at further harmonising and improving cybersecurity in Europe. It represents a significant step in bolstering cybersecurity measures in Europe by adopting a risk-based methodology. Essentially, this means that products with a higher risk profile will be subjected to stricter requirements, and a set of common foundational rules will be applied across all manufacturers, importers, and distributors of such products, to both large and small companies. The CRA includes rules for placing products on the [...]
ACT | The App Association Comments on Adequacy Decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework
ACT | The App Association welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of an adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which President Biden and European Commission President von der Leyen announced in March 2022. This new framework will play a crucial role in ensuring the continued protection of data and restoring seamless data flows between the two regions. As we’ve written numerous times, and explored in-depth in an expert roundtable and accompanying report, Privacy Shield served as a vital transfer mechanism for small [...]
The App Association Provides Policy Recommendations for AI
Policy Recommendations for AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) is clearly a priority for policymakers, with 37 AI-related laws enacted globally, more than 80 pending legislative proposals at the state level and several more at the federal level. To understand and shape rules for this complex and evolving technology, a vital voice—that of small businesses, members of ACT| The App Association—must be prioritized in order to create a competitive, safe, and secure AI future. We initially released these principles in 2021. However, [...]
Perspectives on the upcoming launch of the Unified Patent Court
On 23 May 2023, ACT | The App Association held an online event titled ‘Perspectives on the upcoming launch of the Unified Patent Court’. The event brought together App Association members who are affected by standard-essential patent (SEP) policies, academics, litigators, and industry experts. The conversation was centred around the highly anticipated launch of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). App Association founder Mike Sax welcomed everyone and engaged in a conversation with Vincent Keunen, founder and CEO of the connected health [...]
Notice Us, FTC Small Businesses Weigh in on Negative Option Rule
On Friday, June 23, ACT | The App Association submitted comments along with a letter signed by 25 App Association small business members to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) in response to its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), providing critical recommendations on proposed amendments to the Commission’s Negative Option Rule. These comments emphasized the need for the Commission to pause this rulemaking and take the time to consult with the American small business innovator community and other [...]
Ecodesigning a Better Future
Have you heard of the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation? The regulation, out of the European Commission, aims to establish a framework that would create requirements for energy-related products that would reduce their impact on the environment throughout their lifecycle. ACT | The App Association is proudly pro green tech, but we are concerned some software provisions in this regulation could potentially complicate things for software developers. For months, we held meetings with MEPs, conveyed industry letters, and provided [...]