ACT | The App Association Welcomes President Von der Leyen’s Focus on Startups and Scaleups
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – ACT | The App Association welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s emphasis on startups and competitiveness in her 2025 State of the Union speech. Her recognition of the role of Europe’s innovators sends an important signal at a critical moment for the EU’s digital future. Startups and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Europe’s economy and the drivers of digital transformation. The App Association shares the Commission’s view that empowering startups [...]
ACT | The App Association Joins 21 APEC Member Nations for Ministerial Meeting to Support Small Businesses
WASHINGTON – This week ACT | The App Association Senior Global Counsel Brian Scarpelli participated in the Innovation Network Forum for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), held around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC’s) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial meeting in Jeju, Republic of Korea, a key forum for the 21 APEC member economies to collaborate on ways to create a policy environment for emerging technologies that supports SME growth, drives innovation, and preserves consumer security and trust. A [...]
Always be Filing: ACT | The App Association Filing Activity August 2025
Throughout the year, our policy team submits filings with government bodies worldwide to advocate for a regulatory environment that inspires and rewards innovation. From issues around regulating artificial intelligence to digital trade, our team is ACTive on a wide range of topics that could have a positive or negative impact on our small business members driving the app economy. Below is a roundup of our filings from around the globe this past month. Title: Submission of ACT | The [...]
What is the Hidden Gem of Attending WWDC? Community.
A Developer Community Spotlight with Mark Thomas Not many people can say they’ve attended 25 Apple Worldwide Developers Conferences (WWDCs), but Mark Thomas isn’t your average UK-based developer. As the founder of Appnalysis, an ACT | The App Association member company, Mark has spent his career digging deep into what makes apps usable, scalable, and impactful. From helping early-stage founders decode user behaviour to consulting with enterprise teams, Mark’s work sits at the intersection of UX, data, and digital [...]
A Scroll Down Memory Lane: Summer 2025’s Member Mondays
ACT | The App Association’s members are at the forefront of innovation, leveraging technology to create meaningful solutions that drive positive change. Each week, we spotlight these trailblazing small businesses through our Member Monday series. This summer, our Member Monday features highlighted how our global small tech members are not only building impactful products and services, but they are also shaping key policy conversations, from regulatory clarity and decentralized innovation to the future of workforce development. Take a scroll [...]
A Ham-Fisted Approach to Online Safety Will Leave Small Businesses Stuck in the Regulatory Muck
Amid proliferating efforts at both the federal and state levels to regulate children’s online safety, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently issued its opinion in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. Addressing First Amendment concerns, the Court ruled in favor of upholding a Texas law that mandates age verification for online content deemed harmful to minors. To unpack the implications of the decision, the Cato Institute hosted a webinar titled What Would Online Age Verification Mean for Speech, Privacy, and [...]