Stay up to date with
Engine’s weekly newsletter:
NEWS FEED
Startup News Digest 6/14/19
Big story. One-year anniversary of net neutrality repeal. This Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the net neutrality rules going into effect, and advocates of the protections marked the occasion with a new push to reverse the FCC’s decision.
Startup News Digest 6/07/19
Big Story. Tech giants under antitrust scrutiny. The Trump administration is reportedly launching a major antitrust probe to determine whether Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have misused their market power. Under a series of arrangements, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have reportedly divided up oversight of the four companies. The DOJ will now have authority over any potential antitrust investigations into Google and Apple, while the FTC will have oversight of Facebook and Amazon.
Startup News Digest 5/31/19
Big Story. FCC broadband access report scrutinized. The Federal Communications Commission released its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report this week, which said that more Americans than ever before now have access to high-speed broadband.
Startup News Digest 5/24/19
Big Story. Tech companies warned about doing business in China. U.S. intelligence officials have reportedly been briefing tech executives about the dangers of conducting business in China, including warning them about the theft of intellectual property and the possibility of cyber attacks. The meetings come as the Trump administration continues to warn companies against doing business with Chinese firms amidst an ongoing trade dispute between the two countries.
Startup News Digest 5/17/19
Big Story. Trump administration moves against Chinese tech firms. President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting U.S. companies from purchasing or using telecoms equipment produced by a foreign adversary, an announcement that paves the way for a ban on Chinese-owned telecommunications firm Huawei.
Startup News Digest 5/10/19
The Big Story. FTC supports national data privacy framework. Members of the Federal Trade Commission pushed lawmakers on a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee to create a national data privacy framework that would regulate how tech companies handle and use consumer data.
Startup News Digest 5/03/19
The Big Story: Supreme Court debates hearing Google-Oracle case. The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the Trump administration for its opinion on whether it should hear the long-running Oracle v. Google copyright infringement case involving the Android operating system and access to software interfaces. The justices did not give the Justice Department a deadline to respond.
Startup News Digest 4/26/19
The Big Story: Censoring online content. Sri Lanka’s government blocked social media throughout the entire country to prevent the spread of extremist or misleading online content after a series of devastating bombings at churches and hotels on Easter Sunday killed over 250 people.
Startup News Digest 4/19/19
The Big Story: Europe moves to further regulate online platforms. European countries moved this week to further regulate social media platforms, while the EU Council officially approved a divisive new copyright directive.
Startup News Digest 4/12/19
The Big Story: Dealing with harmful online content. Dueling congressional committees this week held hearings on online hate speech and digital censorship as the United Kingdom released a sweeping plan to require social media companies to be more proactive in removing harmful content from their sites.
Startup News Digest 4/05/19
The Big Story: Net neutrality bill gaining momentum. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to advance the Save the Internet Act, legislation to reinstate the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality protections, which kept the Internet a level playing field for startups. A vote by the full House is expected next week.
Startup News Digest 3/29/19
The Big Story: Data privacy takes center stage. Engine Executive Director Evan Engstrom testified before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection this week to discuss the impact privacy regulations have on startups. Evan stressed the need for lawmakers to craft a comprehensive national privacy framework that balances strong consumer protections with reasonable requirements for startups on bootstrap budgets.
Startup News Digest 3/22/19
The Big Story: More scrutiny on Internet platforms. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are renewing scrutiny of how Internet platforms moderate users’ content, adding to the criticism of a foundational law that protects Internet platforms of all sizes.
Startup News Digest 3/15/19
The Big Story: Proposed tech breakup bad for startups. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made waves this week when she called for the breakup of several big tech companies, alleging that they have “too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy.”
Startup News Digest 3/8/19
The Big Story: The new push for net neutrality. Democrats came out this week with legislation to restore the 2015 net neutrality rules that kept Internet service providers from blocking or slowing access to content online and from charging companies for better access to users.
Startup News Digest 3/1/19
The Big Story: High stakes for trade deals. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified to Congress this week to address several important trade issues impacting startups. On China, it looks unlikely that we will see a resolution to the trade war or a decrease in tariffs soon, although the Administration has started to make some progress with the Chinese on issues like intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.
Startup News Digest: 2/22/19
The Big Story: Back-to-back privacy hearings. Lawmakers on both sides of the capitol will hold privacy hearings this week as Congress gets increasingly serious about putting federal privacy protections on the book.
Startup News Digest: 2/15/19
The Big Story: EU officials reach a deal on Article 13. European Union officials reached a deal on new copyright rules this week, including Article 13, a controversial proposal that would require Internet platforms to either obtain licenses from a given copyright holder or prevent the upload of any user-generated content that infringes on that rightsholder’s copyright.
Startup News Digest 1/25/19
The Big Story: GDPR’s biggest hit yet. The French privacy watchdog has issued a $57 million fine against Google, the largest fine yet under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, the sweeping privacy rules that went into effect in the European Union last year.
Startup News Digest 1/18/19
The Big Story: AG nominee talks tech. Ongoing tech policy issues were a recurring topic during this week’s confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, William Barr.