Understanding the CRA: An update
Earlier this summer, we outlined the ins and outs of Europe’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), including our four main concerns, particularly in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) like our member companies. Since then, both the European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE) and the EU Council, representing European Member States, have voiced their perspectives ahead of the CRA's Plenary vote later this fall. Below, we have outlined changes the CRA has seen since our last update [...]
¬Americans Don’t Know Where Their FSA Dollars are Going—I Sure Didn’t
Healthcare is a difficult topic in the United States. We face doctor shortages, medication shortages, and long wait times for specialty referrals, not to mention difficulties paying for treatment. In a system like ours that focuses on reactive treatment of acute problems rather than proactive or preventive treatment, patients will always struggle. Even some of the systems in place to make healthcare work better don’t function the way they should. The health flexible spending account (FSA) is one of [...]
Charting New Waters: Supporting Underrepresented Innovators for Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD) emerged in the mid-‘90s as a day for people across the globe to “talk and act like pirates for the day,” and although this somewhat unserious observance started as a joke by two friends, we appreciate the opportunity to celebrate the importance of intellectual property rights for creators, users, and lovers of innovation. Lovers of TLAPD and its IP inclusion have championed September 19th with the notion that “It may be fun to [...]
Five Questions Small Businesses Have for the FTC Nominees
In a serious blow to its reputational capital, the two Republican commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) resigned before their terms expired, frustrated with current leadership. As a result, the typically bipartisan Commission is now led by three Democratic commissioners, with no Republican counterparts. President Biden has selected two nominees to fill the Republican slots, and the Senate Commerce Committee is now poised to consider their qualifications in confirmation hearings before recommending them to the full chamber. [...]
Balancing big tech and SMEs: the DMCC’s role in the UK
The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) was introduced earlier this year in an effort to regulate digital markets and safeguard consumers. The bill, currently under review by the UK House of Commons, mainly targets large corporations deemed to be ‘big tech’ with a strategic market status (SMS) designation. Although the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that make up ACT | The App Association’s membership are unlikely to receive an SMS designation, their success is closely linked to [...]