TLDR: The Senate is convening a hearing later today to discuss the law surrounding accusations of online copyright infringement. As it stands, online platforms (including startups) are not automatically liable for infringement based on content created or posted by their users. As the Senate reviews the law this year, it’s important to consider the interests of startups since changes in the law could create unreasonable burdens on fledgling companies. 

TLDR: House lawmakers are moving towards a vote on legislation that would threaten workers, startups, and larger companies alike by reclassifying many independent contractors as employees. The bill shares many concerning similarities with California’s “gig worker” law that went into effect at the beginning of the year and has drawn considerable pushback from the state’s startup community. 

TLDR: As countries continue to debate whether or not to levy digital services taxes on tech companies, several states are considering implementing their own digital tax measures. While the currently proposed state-level bills are unlikely to receive much traction, they demonstrate a growing willingness on the part of state representatives to levy their own taxes against online companies of all sizes. 

TLDR: The Department of Justice is continuing its push for tech companies to undermine their users’ security by building in intentional vulnerabilities. In the latest spat between Apple, Attorney General William Barr is claiming that the company is not helping officials unlock two iPhones belonging to the shooter in last month’s deadly shooting at a Florida naval air base, despite the fact that the older model devices can likely be accessed and Apple has already turned over the relevant data in its possession.

TLDR: Later this year, the Supreme Court will weigh in on a long-standing copyright dispute between Oracle and Google over the permissible use of application programming interfaces, or APIs. APIs are software interfaces that startups rely on to promote interoperability and reduce costs. If they were eligible for copyright protection, then companies that own the API copyrights would be able to prevent others from using those APIs without paying for a license. This week Engine filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that APIs should not be eligible for copyright protection, and in particular that extending copyright protections to APIs is an attempt to evade patent law in a way that would unduly harm startups and entrepreneurs.

A key House panel is holding a hearing tomorrow morning to examine the dangers of online misinformation, deception, and deepfakes. Lawmakers are rightfully concerned about the spread of misinformation across the Internet, but they have largely failed to offer solutions that would not stifle startups and other platforms’ ability to moderate troublesome—but otherwise legal—content.

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to highlight some of the main policy issues that have affected the startup community this year, and what we’ve done to advance the goals of the entrepreneurial community.