ACT | The App Association Urges the Council to Uphold the Proposed SEP Regulation
Yesterday, ACT | The App Association submitted a letter to the Council of the European Union, urging Member States to uphold their role in the legislative process by engaging in discussions on the Proposed Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs). The European Commission’s recent request to withdraw the regulation, despite its broad support from the European Parliament and stakeholders, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), risks undermining innovation and fair competition in the EU. ‘At this critical moment for [...]
Statement from ACT | The App Association on Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on “Children’s Safety in the Digital Era: Strengthening Protections and Addressing Legal Gaps”
“Children’s online safety is a critical issue and we applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for dedicating time to this subject,” said Morgan Reed, President of the App Association. “As this committee and other leaders in Congress consider legislation around online safety, the App Association and our members strongly support the passage of comprehensive privacy legislation and amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) to make it easier for parents and guardians to provide consent for their teens [...]
One Year Later: The EU’s SEP Licensing Landscape Still Threatens SME Innovation
One year ago, the European Parliament advanced the European Commission’s proposed Standard Essential Patents Regulation to address the opaque and costly standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing system that makes it increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), like our members,to innovate. The proposal aimed to simplify the licensing process, ensuring that Europe remained competitive in the global tech race. One year later, a handful of big companies have pressured the Commission to announce its intention to withdraw the regulation. [...]
DeepSeek’s Message to Western Policymakers: Unleash the Dynamism of AI Innovators or Risk Finishing a Distant Second
In October 2024, competition authorities from the G7 countries convened in Rome to discuss the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Their message to AI innovators was clear: expect coordinated and vigorous scrutiny. The recent unveiling of DeepSeek’s open-source R1 AI model, notably released under an MIT open-source licensing model, has called into question this regulatory mindset. Competing on an equal footing with top-tier AI systems from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others at a fraction of the cost, this development underscores [...]
Event Recap: Lightning Talks at the State of the Net Conference
This year, the State of the Net Conference focused on the changing policy landscape under the new Trump Administration. Many key policy advocates gathered to discuss artificial intelligence, updates to internet governance, and other key topics for advocates working with tech businesses. ACT | The App Association contributed to the conference through my Lightning Talk, titled “Free Flow of Information Shaped the Internet. What Happens When that Information is Restricted?” The App Association has long supported digital trade policies [...]