Stay up to date with
Engine’s weekly newsletter:
NEWS FEED
Startup News Digest 12/06/24
Artificial intelligence, innovation funding, spectrum left off of Congress’ 2024 to-do list
Startup News Digest 10/25/24
Student loan program heads to court, impacting future entrepreneurs
The push for a new federal law regulating digital replicas and what it means for startups
The recent legislative and agency efforts directed at regulating digital replicas of individuals’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) have the potential to harm startups’ access to the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and chill innovation.
Startup News Digest 06/28/24
Privacy bill stumbles, but startups still need a uniform federal framework
Startup News Digest 04/26/24
Net neutrality revival set to ensure level startup playing field
Startup News Digest 04/19/24
Lawmakers lament detriment to startups of Trade Rep’s digital trade reversal
Startup News Digest 1/12/24
Startups to face hiring challenges following independent contractor rule
Startup News Digest 07/14/23
The Big Story: EU, U.S. implement framework to restore transatlantic data transfers. The European Commission this week adopted a needed decision to implement the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, bringing certainty back to transatlantic data transfers and lowering barriers for startups. The long-awaited agreement ends years of uncertainty surrounding data flows needed for U.S. startups to serve EU customers thanks to the invalidation of an earlier transfer agreement called Privacy Shield. The new framework is a welcome step that will bolster the competitiveness of U.S. startups looking to serve the EU market.
Startup News Digest 06/09/23
The Big Story: Startups call on Congress to fix R&D expensing. Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress took steps this week toward addressing a critical tax issue impacting startups’ bottom lines: a recently enacted change to how startups expense research, development, and experimentation costs. House and Senate lawmakers held two hearings this week exploring how the tax code, including incentives around R&D impact small businesses and startups.
Startup News Digest 04/28/23
The Big Story: Over 65 startups call for uniform federal privacy law. This week, startups are calling on Congress to pass a federal privacy law that takes the startup ecosystem into account. A coalition of startups and support organizations across 26 states sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to pass a law that creates uniformity, promotes clarity, limits bad faith litigation, accounts for the resources of startups, and recognizes the interconnectedness of the startup ecosystem. The letter comes as states continue to enact their own unique data privacy laws, and as a Congressional committee explored the problems posed by a sectoral federal privacy landscape in a hearing this week.
Startup News Digest 02/17/23
The Big Story: Section 230, privacy, encryption in crosshairs at kids safety hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on protecting children’s safety online, where lawmakers suggested changes to several issues important to startups, like Section 230, data privacy, and encryption. The wide-ranging proposals appear conceived with the largest tech companies in mind, but they would affect all Internet companies, especially startups. The hearing comes amid efforts from policymakers at all levels of government aimed at safeguarding young Internet users that could carry unintended negative consequences for startups without necessarily protecting children.
Intellectual property scams target startups, and how policymakers can help
Bad actors are constantly looking to trick unsuspecting startups into unnecessarily giving up their already-limited resources. One scam gaining in popularity is to impersonate government officials and ask startups for payment to “renew” their existing trademarks, and it demonstrates how intellectual property systems can be weaponized against startups.
Startup News Digest 02/10/23
The Big Story: Hearings cast spotlight on capital access obstacles. Lawmakers heard from entrepreneurs and investors this week as they examined key issues impacting startups’ ability to access capital. The House Financial Services subcommittee held two hearings covering multiple legislative proposals, including efforts to expand the pool of accredited investors and changes to the structure of certain investment funds. Those changes, if enacted, would bring much needed diversity to the startup ecosystem’s investor pool and boost funding opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs.