ACT | The App Association statement from founder Mike Sax regarding the 7 March deadline for gatekeepers to comply with the DMA
Statement from Mike Sax, founder and chairperson of ACT | The App Association, on the 7 March deadline for gatekeepers to comply with obligations set forth by the Digital Markets Act (‘DMA’): 'Today begins a new chapter for app users and developers across the EU. The implementation and enforcement of the DMA will be an ongoing journey, rather than a single event. ‘App creators look forward to learning about the prospects offered by new app marketplaces. We urge the European [...]
Empowering Innovation: A Unified Call for Action on National Standards and Fair SEP Licensing Policies
To address the existing power imbalances and transparency issues within the standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing landscape, members of ACT | The App Association recently sent a letter to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. This letter underscores the App Association’s support for the Administration’s National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (NSSCET) and asks for urgent reform in SEP licensing policies that, unless course-corrected, will defeat the goals of the NSSCET. SEP Licensing Abuse Standards like Wi-Fi [...]
Killing Commerce for Dummies: A How-To Manual from the FTC
Federal agencies—especially independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—have a tough job. They must walk a tightrope between maximizing their authority to appease their loudest constituencies while staying faithful to the boundaries Congress sets in statute. Under these conditions, implementing an agenda that statute and economic realities forbid is not recommended, but where pursued, takes extraordinary skill and patience. In this case, the FTC has somewhat successfully charted such a course. Specifically, it has embarked on an effort to [...]
The Importance of Digital Trade for Small Businesses
The U.S. government’s long-standing support for policies that reduce artificial barriers to digital trade has provided an important foundation for even the smallest American companies’ competitiveness abroad. As virtually all industries continue their transition to digital, and regulators abroad have increasingly sought policies that would exclude American small businesses and startup innovators from their markets, this federal backing has never been more important. Unlike larger companies, smaller businesses with few product or service lines usually cannot shoulder the extra costs [...]
ACT | The App Association Statement on Extension of WTO Ecommerce Moratorium
"During the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, WTO members agreed to extend the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions into 2026. The moratorium protects against tariffs and customs formalities on electronic transmissions and has underpinned our growth and job creation across consumer and enterprise markets. ACT | The App Association’s small business digital economy innovator community supports the decision by WTO members to extend the moratorium for two years, and we renew our call for the [...]
Repair with Caution: How the FTC’s Decisions Could Impact Security, Privacy, and IP
We have said it once, and we’ll say it again: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must be careful not to adopt broad rulemaking that would invite serious security, privacy, and intellectual property (IP) risks for U.S. businesses. This broad rulemaking includes the heavily debated consumers’ right to repair as recently petitioned to the FTC. ACT | The App Association responded in the interest of our software developer community, which would be directly harmed by rules allowing extensive access to their [...]