Survey Says: IP is Essential to Innovation
ACT | The App Association members compete and innovate across the consumer and enterprise landscapes and invest heavily in their intellectual property (IP). Not only because it is the lifeblood of their products and our industry at large, but also because it represents their innovative drive, hard work, and dedication to progress within the app economy. Small businesses’ IP—copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets—sets them apart from the competition, highlighting their identity and ingenuity. Recently, we issued a survey to [...]
The Future of Small Business Growth Depends on Trusted and Secure Marketplaces
Today, ACT | The App Association/Morning Consult released polling indicating that Americans living in 10 states strongly support efforts to protect small app developers’ growth while maintaining a trusted digital marketplace with consistent security standards applied to both large and small businesses. Polling captured adults’ (18+) opinions on security standards, consumer trust, resources needed to continue small business growth, and whether or not Congress should continue consideration for the Open App Markets Act (S. 2710) and the American Innovation and [...]
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Facebook Says the Quiet Part Loud: Competition Policy Should Help Them Surveil Users
As Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) continues to seek supporters for her so-called platform antitrust bills, including by offering largely symbolic “revisions” (we remain unconvinced), some unlikely (though not entirely unexpected) allies are emerging from the woodwork. Though Senator Klobuchar often claims that the purpose of the bills is to knock big tech platforms down a peg, Facebook’s recent filing to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) in response to the agency’s Request for Comments on Competition in the Mobile App [...]
How FinTech Apps Advance Financial Literacy in a Safe Environment
We often say that there is no such thing as a “tech industry” because, in our experience, app and connected device companies are solving problems in virtually every industry. Some are better positioning bars and restaurants to weather the global pandemic; others are revolutionizing agriculture by monitoring cattle and preserving piglets with state-of-the art sensor technology; and some are turning smart devices into digital literacy tools, helping parents teach their kids how to save and set goals. Members of the [...]
House and Senate Competition Bills Harm Business and U.S. National Security Interests
It is not lost on U.S. lawmakers that competition legislation intended to rein in “Big Tech” would have far-reaching effects on the economy. What they perhaps did not bargain for is the impact such legislation would have on consumer privacy and security—even national security. ACT | The App Association and several aligned groups have pointed out to Congress that the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992 / H.R. 3816) and Open App Markets Act (S. 2710 / H.R. [...]