SME Developers Seek Clarification on DSA: A Call for Dialogue and Enhanced Protections
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) developers find themselves at a crucial juncture, navigating the complexities of the Digital Services Act (DSA). While the DSA aims to foster a safer and more reliable online environment, the MSME members of ACT | The App Association ask the European Commission (EC) for clearer guidelines and protections to ensure compliance does not inadvertently expose them to new risks. MSME perspective Our members, the driving force behind [...]
Statement from Morgan Reed on National Small Business Week
April 29, 2024 – Today, ACT | The App Association released a statement from President Morgan Reed celebrating Small Business Week: “This week, we celebrate National Small Business Week—an extraordinary opportunity to recognize the monumental contributions our small business members make to their communities and to the global app economy. America’s small businesses are the backbone of innovation, reshaping how we live, work, and engage with technology through secure, sophisticated, connected platforms. “In an era marked by rapid technological transformation, [...]
Epic Games’ Brilliant Plan for Google Play: Burn it Down
The conflicts that led to Epic Games spending so much of its time in courts around the world over the past few years are only partly related to its business model. The other main contributor is the style with which it pursues its goals. From the beginning, the gaming giant sought to bludgeon the major app stores into acquiescing to their demands, by blatantly flouting developer agreements and ultimately suing and pursuing legislation to reshape the stores to fit their [...]
Turning Back the Clock: Why PERA Threatens to Reverse Progress on Patent Reform
As the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) forges ahead with its Strategic Plan for 2022-2026, it has outlined the following proposed five central goals to realize its mission and vision of overseeing a fair and effective patent system: Promote innovation and global competitiveness; Promote efficient delivery of reliable intellectual property (IP) rights; Promote the protection of IP rights against threats; Allow innovation to positively impact the public; and Allow for impactful employee and customer interactions. This strategic vision is [...]
EU Tech Regulator’s “Head in the Sand” Moment
On April 10, Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice-president (EVP) of the European Commission, spoke about AI governance and global technological advancements at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). In discussing the downstream cybersecurity and content moderation policy implications of the EU’s antitrust actions and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), EVP Vestager's comments exposed the limited attention EU regulators have paid to the downstream and potential long-term effects while shaping these impactful laws, calling concerns about security and [...]