Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has been called the most important law impacting the Internet and it continues to serve as the bedrock principle behind user-generated content. Startups rely on the intermediary liability protections found in Section 230 to innovate and create new ways for people to communicate. It guarantees that a website which gives users a forum to express themselves freely will not face ruinous legal liability if someone says something illegal. As policymakers consider how platforms protect users, they also must keep in mind how our increasingly digital and connected world allows us to share stories, creations, and innovations.
How determining user age impacts startups
Engine submitted an amicus brief to SCOTUS in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton
Congressional Startup Day brings together lawmakers and their startup constituents.
Last month, a majority of the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution contemplating a policy framework that could diminish startup competitiveness and endanger the open Internet. The vote is the latest in a long-running effort by telecom companies to force websites and apps to pay them based on the traffic they generate. That model, sometimes called “sender pays,” is gaining popularity with policymakers throughout the world—including in the U.S.—threatening net neutrality principles and the competitiveness of U.S. startups.
As summer kicks into gear, state legislatures are closing up shop, but not before introducing and passing legislation impacting startups. In the absence of federal action on many technology policy issues occupying the public imagination, state legislatures have acted to create their own rules, which can vary slightly, significantly—or outright conflict with—each other.
The Big Story: EU data ruling further imperils transatlantic data flows. A decision this week by a major EU privacy regulator is adding to uncertainty over companies’—especially startups’—already tenuous ability to store and process user data from EU users in the U.S.
The Big Story: Congress digs into recent bank failures. This week, committees in both chambers held hearings to examine recent bank failures, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)—a key financial institution in the startup ecosystem. The collapse of SVB in particular devastated many across the innovation ecosystem, sending companies scrambling to withdraw funds and make payroll, uncertain if their full balances would be secured.