What’s the Cost of Trading Away our Comparative Advantage in Tech?
American policymakers are grappling with substantial political pressure to “rein in” some of our most successful online marketplaces. The smartphone-driven entry of social media platforms like Facebook, curated online retail marketplaces like Amazon’s, software platforms like the major app stores, and search platforms like Google’s has brought with it a formidable expansion of choices and value for individual consumers and small businesses. Unsurprisingly, the rapid growth of these marketplaces and platforms also led to increased scrutiny of competition and consumer [...]
SEP Law Protects Businesses and National Security
To safeguard American leadership in tech-driven markets vis à vis foreign rivals like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Congress must recognize the importance of standards. Specifically, U.S. policy should account for the crucial role of standard-essential patents (SEPs) to global commerce, and ensure enforcement of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in SEP licensing. Consensus-based technological standards fuel innovation. Trusted standards-setting organizations (SSOs) develop these standards to promote interoperability between products and services as well as to ensure end [...]
Statement from ACT | The App Association founder Mike Sax on major SEP FRAND judgment in the UK
‘On Thursday, March 16, 2023, the UK High Court called out Interdigital Technology Corporation for acting as an unwilling licensor of standard-essential patents (SEP) by demanding unfair terms and an excessive royalty rate. ‘Today’s decision shows that SEP abuse is real and that with enough resources, it is possible to fight back and win against abuses. ‘This court decision reaffirmed that a fair standards process requires fair play and has now made it clear that open standards require willing licensors. ‘A healthy [...]
3.14 Cheers for Pi Day: Statement from Morgan Reed
Today, ACT | The App Association released a statement from president Morgan Reed celebrating Pi Day: “There’s an infinite number of reasons to celebrate Pi Day today. Here are my three favorite slices of pi: Pi Day is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in our lives and for our future. STEM education is also responsible for shaping the minds of the next generation of innovators in the app economy, [...]
Policymakers Should Take Cybersecurity Advice From Our Top Cybersecurity Official
Recently, Jen Easterly, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), spoke at an event at Carnegie Mellon University where she emphasized the “need for a system of security products that take the responsibility off of consumers.” Easterly named several companies to compare how they approach accountability and transparency for security practices differently. Specifically, she pointed to Apple’s decision to make multi-factor authentication (MFA) a default setting for iCloud, which has resulted in about 95 percent of users adopting [...]
Event Recap: Coding a Career – Bossier Parish Community College
Earlier this month, ACT | The App Association co-hosted the third installment of our Coding a Career event series alongside our partners Apple and Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges at the Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) Shreveport Campus. This event brought together some of the area’s most engaged officials, business leaders, educators, and students for a day of programming focused on giving students actionable insights around how to turn an interest in computer science and coding into a lifelong career. [...]