TLDR: The startup community is still waiting for clarity about whether venture capital-backed startups are eligible for small business loans included in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, despite suggestions by federal officials that the issue would be addressed shortly. To better understand the relationship between economic relief efforts and startups, we are asking companies to fill out a brief survey here to help determine how the government can clarify existing rules—such as the SBA’s affiliation rules—to better protect the nation’s startup ecosystem.

TLDR: As Congress continues working on a stimulus package to counteract the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important that lawmakers ensure that startups, gig workers, and e-commerce platforms receive the financial security and protections they need to stay in business.

TLDR: The Federal Communications Commission and Internet service providers have taken steps to improve broadband access in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, seeking to promote increased connectivity across the U.S. network as more Americans rely on at-home broadband access.  

TLDR: A Senate panel this week is planning to discuss new legislation that calls for Internet companies to agree to yet-to-be-determined best practices around detecting and removing child sexual abuse materials or risk losing their critical intermediary liability protections. While startups and other online platforms share lawmakers’ desire to remove problematic and illegal user-generated content from their sites, the legislation—as currently drafted—threatens to disrupt the protections that have allowed the Internet ecosystem as we know it to thrive for more than two decades.  

TLDR: Senate legislation introduced late last week would tax certain employee stock options upon vesting, rather than upon exercise. Although the bill is ostensibly designed to curtail the tax benefits that CEOs and other high-level executives receive, the legislation would harm the startup community by targeting the stock-based incentives that new companies use to attract top-tier talent.

TLDR: The IRS is planning to hold a cryptocurrency summit next week as part of an effort to “balance taxpayer service with regulatory enforcement.” The summit comes as cryptocurrency firms continue to seek a defined regulatory framework to address lingering tax questions.

TLDR: As the Justice Department convenes a public workshop today to discuss Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, it’s important for policymakers to understand how the critical intermediary liability protections have allowed Internet platforms of all sizes to grow and succeed.

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.

This year, Engine focused on a number of critical policy issues impacting entrepreneurs and technology startups across the United States. Guided by the startup community’s concerns, we stood up for strong net neutrality rules, highlighted the importance of intermediary liability protections, called for a federal data privacy framework that works for both consumers and startups, and much more.

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.

This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “encryption and lawful access.” While the hearing largely focused on the ways large tech companies use encryption—Apple and Facebook testified—companies of all sizes, especially startups, rely on increased privacy and security protections to gain and keep user trust as well as to differentiate themselves from larger competitors.

TLDR: An appeals court is currently considering whether Internet platforms can be held liable when their users are accused of trademark infringement. Redbubble was accused of direct trademark infringement based on the accusation that its users were selling infringing Ohio State products on the platform. A trial court concluded that Redbubble should not be liable in this circumstance, and Engine filed a brief in support of Redbubble’s position on appeal. 

The Big Story: FCC proposes unlicensed spectrum boost. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced a proposal this week to reallocate spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use, a move that would open up the airwaves for more Wi-Fi. The 5.9 GHz band is currently reserved for vehicle-to-vehicle communications but has largely been unused for its intended purpose. Chairman Pai’s proposal would reallocate the lower 45 MHz for unlicensed use while setting the upper 40 MHz aside for vehicle safety purposes. 

TLDR: The Supreme Court last week took up a copyright case and is hopefully poised to resolve issues about the copyrightability and permissible use of software interfaces next year. The case in question arose from a long-running dispute between Oracle and Google about one type of software interface—application programming interfaces, or APIs. Without the Supreme Court’s intervention, there is a risk that companies will copyright APIs or other interfaces, and then be able to prevent other companies from using them without paying for a license.