From Network Fees threatening the very essence of the Open Internet, to the mysterious data disappearance triggered by the EHDS opt-out mechanism, startups face a wide array of gnarly obstacles. These haunt them like ghosts in the night, showing up not just for the Halloween festivities. In this blog post, we delve into five bone-chilling regulatory initiatives that plague startups, sending shivers down the spines of even the bravest of entrepreneurs. 

1. Network Fees: a Menace to the Open and Free Internet 👹

The Open Internet is a place where innovation dances like a coven of witches under a full moon. However, one must remain vigilant of their lurking menace: Network Fees. The idea of their introduction casts a gloomy shadow over the startups and their innovations, haunting their every move and hindering their potential.

2. The Magic Spell of Sovereignty Requirements 🪄🧙🏻

In the eerie tale of the digital realm, sovereignty requirements have multiplied like ghosts over the last five spooky years of overregulation. These politically motivated demands, unaware of the startups’ ambitions, fail to recognise the very essence of these driven spirits who wish to be global from the very day they emerge. These sovereignty requirements compel startups to mandatorily meet these ‘voluntary’ requirements that often clash with the very rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

 3. GDPR, the Privacy Labyrinth 😵‍💫

Ah, GDPR, the Ghostly Data Protection Regulation! For startups, it can be a real Halloween fright. Just picture this: a small, eager team of entrepreneurs, racing through the startup graveyard with their lanterns of innovation, only to notice the GDPR creeping up. As they delve deeper into the spooky crypts of compliance, they discover a labyrinth of complex rules and regulations, each one more frightening than the last. 

4. The AI Act: a True Regulatory Maze 🤖

In this haunted regulatory maze that is the AI Act, confusing rules can leave startups stumbling in the dark, unsure of what’s deemed risky AI. Like lost souls in a labyrinth, they wander aimlessly, hindered in their quest for growth. Meanwhile, GPAIs and overlapping laws, rather than offering a hand, only double the confusion.

5. Ghostly Data Disappearance: the EHDS Opt-out Mechanism 👻

In the eerie realm of data collection, the EHDS opt-out can lead to the mysterious vanishing of citizens’ quality data, haunting startups, innovators, and researchers like a ghostly apparition on a moonlit Halloween night. After all, these precious data gems, much like the candy treasure of Halloween night, can be collected, analysed, and utilised to illuminate the path to better treatments, more efficient systems, and a healthier, happier world.

But fear not, brave founders! At Allied for Startups, we advocate to light up the Halloween sky with the promise of a brighter tomorrow, where startups can thrive despite this particularly eerie regulatory landscape. 🎃