They Thought it Was a Goner, but the App Came Back the Very Next Day
In the famous children’s song by Laurie Berkner, the narrator goes to cartoonish lengths to rid themselves of the eponymous cat, only to have it return from each attempt. Congress’s latest effort to require a sale of TikTok (the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or PAFACA) appears impossible to circumvent. However, if either the Open App Markets Act (OAMA) or the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) were enacted, Congress should fully expect foreign adversary-owned apps [...]
The No AI FRAUD Act: Good Intentions, Flawed Execution
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has been shown to support small business innovation in several ways. For example, small companies use GAI in ways that reduce time, cost, and efficiency barriers, advancing avenues for expansion, and otherwise enabling innovation. Yet, potential consequences from utilizing GAI as a commercial tool, including the unintentional facilitation of malicious and nonconsensual use of someone’s likeness, have given rise to concerns, prompting legislative proposals aimed at reducing the risks associated with GAI technologies. But the rush [...]
ACT | The App Association statement from founder Mike Sax regarding the 7 March deadline for gatekeepers to comply with the DMA
Statement from Mike Sax, founder and chairperson of ACT | The App Association, on the 7 March deadline for gatekeepers to comply with obligations set forth by the Digital Markets Act (‘DMA’): 'Today begins a new chapter for app users and developers across the EU. The implementation and enforcement of the DMA will be an ongoing journey, rather than a single event. ‘App creators look forward to learning about the prospects offered by new app marketplaces. We urge the European [...]
Empowering Innovation: A Unified Call for Action on National Standards and Fair SEP Licensing Policies
To address the existing power imbalances and transparency issues within the standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing landscape, members of ACT | The App Association recently sent a letter to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. This letter underscores the App Association’s support for the Administration’s National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (NSSCET) and asks for urgent reform in SEP licensing policies that, unless course-corrected, will defeat the goals of the NSSCET. SEP Licensing Abuse Standards like Wi-Fi [...]
Killing Commerce for Dummies: A How-To Manual from the FTC
Federal agencies—especially independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—have a tough job. They must walk a tightrope between maximizing their authority to appease their loudest constituencies while staying faithful to the boundaries Congress sets in statute. Under these conditions, implementing an agenda that statute and economic realities forbid is not recommended, but where pursued, takes extraordinary skill and patience. In this case, the FTC has somewhat successfully charted such a course. Specifically, it has embarked on an effort to [...]
The Importance of Digital Trade for Small Businesses
The U.S. government’s long-standing support for policies that reduce artificial barriers to digital trade has provided an important foundation for even the smallest American companies’ competitiveness abroad. As virtually all industries continue their transition to digital, and regulators abroad have increasingly sought policies that would exclude American small businesses and startup innovators from their markets, this federal backing has never been more important. Unlike larger companies, smaller businesses with few product or service lines usually cannot shoulder the extra costs [...]