The Big Story: Treasury Department reportedly clarifying rules for VC-backed startups. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Axios yesterday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is preparing to release guidance in the next few days, easing the rules around venture capital-backed startups and eligibility for small business loans included in the mammoth Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Applicants can start applying for those loans today, but there were concerns that existing Small Business Administration rules would have precluded many startups from applying. 

The Big Story: As startup funding declines, stimulus offers some relief. With seed-stage investments disappearing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the $2 trillion stimulus package approved by the U.S. Senate this week offers some short-term relief for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and gig workers who are struggling as a result of the global economic downturn.  

The Big Story: Websites working to combat COVID-19 misinformation. Large social media platforms warned this week that more user-generated content could be removed for policy violations as Internet companies increase their reliance on automated software to flag and remove harmful content in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite the necessary move towards automated detection tools, online companies of all sizes are working to carefully balance concerns about their employees’ health with heightened efforts to combat the spread of false information, especially about the virus. 

The Big Story: UK to start charging digital services tax. The United Kingdom is moving forward with a two percent digital services tax on Internet companies that have a global revenue of more than $648 million, at least $32.4 million of which comes from UK users. The new levy—which is set to go into effect in three weeks—comes after other countries proposed similar taxes, but delayed implementation of their measures in order to allow the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) time to reach an agreement on a global tech tax.

The Big Story: Proposed SEC plan raises crowdfunding cap to $5 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose a set of amendments to “promote capital formation and expand investment opportunities” for small businesses, including a rule change that would allow startups and other small firms to raise as much as $5 million from crowdfunding.

The Big Story: Concerns mount over digital tax negotiations. World economic leaders at the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia over the weekend warned that a dispute between the U.S. and European countries over the implementation of digital service taxes could pose a threat to the global economy if an agreement is not reached. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has set an end-of-year deadline to negotiate a global tax overhaul that would allow countries to tax large digital service providers who do not necessarily have a physical presence within their borders.