ACT | The App Association’s 2020 Summer App Guide
The summer of 2020 may be shaping up to be a different kind of season than many of us expected or experienced in the past, but one thing will never change…our Summer App Guide! We assembled our top 12 seasonally app-ropriate apps that can keep you cool, help plan outdoor activities, and make sure kids’ brains are engaged and entertained during the summer months. For Fun Swim Guide Whether [...]
The App Association’s Visual Guide to Facial Recognition Use-Cases
Recently, we compiled a primer on the various legislative responses to facial recognition currently percolating at all levels of government. Since then, facial recognition, especially law enforcement use-cases, has received increased scrutiny as part of the ongoing national conversation about racial justice and police reform. Last week, major vendors Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon all announced cancellations or moratoria to their sale of facial recognition capabilities to police departments in the United States. It is clear we are in the midst [...]
Member Spotlight: Wello – Healthy Habits for Kids
By 2030, the world population of obese children and adolescents is predicted to grow by 60 percent to 254 million.[1] With this global health challenge in mind, Sveatoslav Vizitiu and Dumitru Petreus, two software developers in Romania, believe mobile technology can help address this problem. Having struggled with health issues related to excess weight, the two friends started doing research. They found that if one parent is obese, there is a 30-40 percent chance their children will be as well. [...]
A Letter from ACT | The App Association: Our Commitment to Racial Justice
Just a block away from our office doors in the heart of Washington, D.C., a call for justice rings out. A call for an end to systemic racism. A call for all of us to stand with the Black community by looking within ourselves, our neighborhoods, and our workplaces to examine our roles in perpetuating injustice by remaining silent. At ACT | The App Association, we wholeheartedly answer this call, both as an organization and individuals. Black lives matter. Technology [...]
Proximity Tracing and Exposure Notifications 201 – Q&A on the U.S. Approach to COVID-19 Apps
Recently, my colleague authored a resource (the 101 version of this “course,” for the academically inclined) to answer questions about European COVID-19 proximity tracing and exposure notification applications and to construct a best-practices framework for such apps. Now, we pivot our focus to the United States, where efforts to rally behind a unified digital contact tracing regime gained momentum in recent weeks. That’s largely due to Apple and Google’s announcement last month that the two companies joined forces to create [...]
Breaking Down Broadband Barriers in the COVID-19 Era
In light of the current global health crisis, more people are using the internet than before, making clear the relationship between broadband access and the app economy. During a time where all of us are working, learning, receiving healthcare, and entertaining ourselves at home, the internet is more integral to our everyday lives. Unfortunately, our current state of affairs also highlights the digital divide that prevents many Americans from having access to broadband services in their home, making our “new [...]