Foreign nations are saddling U.S. companies — including startups — with discriminatory burdens.
Startup News Digest 03/29/24
Startup News Digest 03/22/24
Startup News Digest 2/09/24
Startup News Digest 2/02/24
Startup News Digest 1/26/24
Startup News Digest 1/19/24
Startup News Digest 1/05/24
Startup News Digest 11/17/23
Startup News Digest 11/03/23
Startup News Digest 10/27/23
Startup News Digest 04/21/23
The Big Story: Non-compete ban would boost the startup ecosystem. Policymakers received thousands of comments this week as a key agency considers a change that would make it easier for people to leave their jobs, including to found and join early stage startups. In conjunction with the Juelsgaard Intellectual Property and Innovation Clinic, Engine submitted comments this week to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to move forward with a proposed rule change that would ban most non-compete agreements, which are post-employment contracts that bar workers from taking up jobs with competitors for a prescribed period of time.
Startup News Digest 04/14/23
The Big Story: Policymakers set their sights on artificial intelligence. This week saw a frenzy of activity from policymakers around the globe looking to regulate artificial intelligence technologies, which startups are increasingly leveraging in their products. In the U.S., federal agencies recently kicked off processes to examine AI and intellectual property as well as AI accountability, while Congress is exploring legislation. Abroad, policymakers have used existing regulations to ban certain AI tools and are looking to adapt their proposed AI rules.
Startup News Digest 04/07/23
The Big Story: States continue adding to tech regulatory landscape risking additional burdens for startups. State legislative sessions are in high gear this spring, advancing tech legislation and threatening to grow a patchwork of varying rules startups must navigate as they grow. This week, for example, the Washington Senate passed a bill governing health information and other personal data. Their effort joins several other states putting forward proposals aimed at privacy and data security, online safety, and content moderation—that each will have noticeable ripple effects for startups.
Startup News Digest 03/31/23
The Big Story: R&D tax credit changes create tax bill for startups. Startups and other companies are facing higher taxes this year after a provision from a 2017 tax law went into effect recently. The law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), triggers a change to how the research and development (R&D) tax credit operates. Unless policymakers step in, startups and small businesses will have to weather the blow to their cash flow and may consider limiting future R&D costs. This could ultimately result in an overall reduction in innovation in the U.S., slowed economic growth, and decreased ability for our innovation ecosystem to compete with other countries.
Startup News Digest 03/24/23
The Big Story: New research shows state privacy patchwork costs startups hundreds of thousands. Startups spend hundreds of thousands of their limited resources on privacy compliance, much of which goes to duplicative activities that don't further users' privacy, according to a report Engine is releasing today. The report, Privacy Patchwork Problem, chronicles the steps startups are taking to protect the data of their users and enumerates the costs, burdens, and barriers startups encounter—which reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It underscores the need to give for a federal privacy framework that creates uniformity, promotes clarity, and accounts for the resources of startups, while creating consistent rights for their users located in every state across the country.
Startup News Digest 02/03/23
The Big Story: Startup policy priorities for 2023, and how to get involved. This week, Engine released its first-ever Startup Policy Playbook, to help give members of the startup ecosystem—startup founders and employees, investors, and support organizations—an overview of the policy conversations happening this Congress and how they can get involved in amplifying the startup voice this year.
Startup News Digest 01/13/23
The Big Story: President Biden’s new tech priorities, and their impact on startups. President Joe Biden outlined a series of proposed changes to tech policy, including several likely to impact startups. In an op-ed this week, the president highlighted common ground with Republicans about perceived issues wrought by large tech companies, but each of the issues—data privacy, intermediary liability, and competition—also directly impact startups. As the president and Congress chart a path forward, it’s important they recognize how legislative decisions impact smaller businesses and startups when considering tech policy.
Startup News Digest 01/06/23
The Big Story: Congress off to rocky start while 2023 startup policy to-do list grows. The 118th Congress is off to a rough start this week as the House remains unable to move forward until they elect a Speaker, which doesn’t bode well for the long and growing list of startup priorities that Congress should act on this year. Those priorities, including key startup issues, like access to talent, broadband availability, and data privacy, must move through a Congress that appears as fraught as ever.
Startup News Digest 12/16/22
The Big Story: Independent contractor proposed rule risks startup growth. More than two dozen startups and ecosystem support organizations are warning policymakers about a proposed change that would impact access to flexible talent. In comments this week to the Department of Labor (DOL), Engine and 28 members of the startup ecosystem spotlighted the important role independent contractors play in the startup ecosystem and the likely negative impact on innovation if startups’ ability to hire contract labor is restricted.
