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 [...]
6/23/2023–Digital Innovators Request an Opt-In from FTC for Further Discussion on the Negative Option Rule
(Washington, DC—6/23/2023) Today, ACT | The App Association submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the highly-contested Negative Option Rule.The letter stated: “We write to share our views about the role of subscriptions in the digital economy, and to express our concerns with aspects of the FTC’s proposed regulatory updates, which would create new challenges to our growth and for the consumers who rely on our innovations, without public benefit.”The App Association requested FTC before updating the Negative [...]
AI Policy Needs Small Business Insight
As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves at an unprecedented pace, policymakers are actively engaging with tech industry giants to understand and regulate AI. Over the past couple of weeks, bipartisan leaders in Congress privately hosted a dinner with OpenAI’s CEO, who subsequently made waves in congressional testimony the following day, calling for robust regulation of super-intelligent AIs. This followed a meeting at the White House led by Vice President Harris with executives from tech giants to discuss AI’s potential impact on [...]
Is it Getting STEAM-Y in Here, or is it Just Our Future Workforce: Part 2 – LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
ACT | The App Association members are innovative small businesses and enterprises transforming how we live, work, and play through apps and connected technology. They’re leading the next generation of trailblazers working to solve problems and fill gaps across industries. For our members to continue improving the lives of their customers and clients through safe, secure products, public and private sectors together must invest in our future workforce through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and science, technology, engineering, arts, [...]
The Antitrust Bills’ Assault on Accessibility
The misguided antitrust bills targeted at online marketplaces—American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and Open App Markets Act (OAMA)—haven’t been reintroduced yet but are still lurking in the shadows of the 118th Congress. As we’ve pointed out, the costs small business developers would bear if either of the bills were enacted include the loss of some of the most basic consumer protection features consumers and developers rely on in the app economy to preserve privacy and protect intellectual property. [...]