Pioneering AI policy: How the EU’s AI Act could shape the app economy
The EU AI Act is a proposed regulation out of the European Union (EU) that seeks to regulate the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) through a risk-based approach. The European Commission (EC) proposed the first-of-its-kind draft legislation in 2021, but with the rest of the policy world turning its attention to AI and how to regulate it, the lawmakers in the EU are hoping to speed up the process to end trilogue negotiations and vote on the bill by the [...]
Sec. 230, Intellectual Property, and the App Store Tug-of-War
There’s a reason we don’t write much about Section 230. For those unfamiliar, Section 230 is the statutory provision clarifying that internet services hosting content created by third parties are not liable for a range of potential civil actions that could be directed at those third parties. The statute is intended to apply long-existing protections for physical forums to virtual forums. The idea is to prevent opportunistic litigation against forum operators that is more properly directed at the publishers of [...]
From Ideas to IPOs: Potential Changes for Startups in a New Merger Landscape
Startup entrepreneurs generally view acquisitions by larger firms as a quick route to success and seek them out. These acquisitions have propelled the U.S. economy and benefited consumers by merging groundbreaking products with the resources of established companies. While current U.S. government guidelines and filing requirements for mergers already pose challenges to small businesses, some recent changes have been proposed that, unless significantly improved, would create a whole host of problems for our small business members. Earlier this fall, members [...]
Issue Brief: Why App Developers Care about FTC v. Amazon
Overview. You might be wondering, hasn’t the FTC already sued Amazon a few times in the past couple years? Yes, but this latest case is the most anticipated because it seeks to punish Amazon for its size through antitrust—rather than consumer protection—claims. If you’ve read recent headlines, you might also get the misimpression that the FTC is arguing that Amazon is price-gouging consumers like some sellers did in the early stages of the pandemic. That’s also not really what the [...]
The European Union’s proposal for a transparent, fair, and reliable standard-essential patent landscape
On 27 April 2023, the European Commission, backed by the European Parliament and Council, unveiled the EU SEP Regulation, a new proposal on standard-essential patents (SEPs). As long-time advocates for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the SEPs space, ACT | The App Association is excited to see the EC and Member States supporting a transparent, reliable, and balanced landscape for the EU economy on SEP licensing issues in this new regulation. Making SEPs FRANDly Technical standards for areas such [...]
Understanding the UK Online Safety Bill: An Update
Earlier this year, we updated you on the UK Online Safety Bill (OSB) and outlined a series of concerns, including an alarming threat to encryption. Since then, the OSB was passed by Parliament, and is now ready to become law. Here’s everything you need to know about what was included in the final version of the bill and what to expect during its implementation process. What is included in the final bill? "As developers, there is a paramount significance of [...]