Amplify: Betsy Furler
ACT | The App Association recognizes the gap in representation in the app economy, and we want to change that. Our Amplify series lifts the voices of those in the tech community who are working to close those gaps in representation. We’re highlighting the problem solvers, elevating those who are driving change in their field and amplifying the efforts and voices of all people across all communities. This Amplify segment highlights Betsy Furler: founder & CEO at For All Abilities [...]
Statement from Morgan Reed on National Small Business Week
May 1, 2022 – Today, ACT | The App Association released a statement from president Morgan Reed celebrating Small Business Week: “This week is National Small Business Week — an opportunity to celebrate our small business members and the impact they have on their local communities and the app economy at large. America’s small businesses are the backbone of innovation, driving solutions that power how we live, work, and play through safe, secure, connected technology. “During times of economic uncertainty, small [...]
How the Open App Markets Act (S. 2710) Would Undermine App Stores
S. 2710 seeks to undo the current management structure for mobile app stores. The provisions track some of the complaints from the largest companies selling digital-only goods and services on the app stores, which have an ultimate purpose of forcing app stores to distribute their products for free. As a result, S. 2710’s centerpiece is a mandate for software platform operators to allow sideloaded software and app stores by default. In addition to the sideloading mandate, S. 2710 would also [...]
How the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) Would Undermine App Stores
S. 2992 seeks to undo the current management structures of large, privately managed marketplaces, including software platforms (app store / operating system combinations). The provisions seek to limit actions large platforms take that would advantage their own offerings or disadvantage other offerings. The central provisions of S. 2992 require open access to personal information and operating system and device features. As a result, S.2992 requires software platform operators to allow sideloaded software and app stores by default. Some of the [...]
2022 Annotated App Store Guidelines
As lawmakers continue to consider measures that would restrict the ability of app platforms to manage their ecosystems, ACT | The App Association remains concerned that such limitations would massively reduce marketplace trust. For many small app developers within our membership, this threat is existential - without possessing a well-known brand presence themselves, they rely on a trusted ecosystem to seamlessly enter the market, reach millions of potential users, and grow their business. Though proponents of the so-called platform competition [...]
Privacy and Antitrust Part 2: What’s Really at Stake if Congress Prohibits App Store Management?
Antitrust reform advocates argue strenuously that consumers will not lose privacy or security benefits if Congress prohibits mobile software platforms from being able to remove malware and other bad actors from app stores. The bills they are pushing, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) and the Open App Markets Act (S. 2710), would prohibit centralized software distribution on mobile software platforms, including the enforcement of privacy and security requirements. According to the advocates, prohibiting these protections is [...]