Startups across the world have come to know the EU as the first-mover on privacy legislation with the GDPR. In December the European Commission put forward two landmark files to regulate the online platform economy: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Given the potential replication of these rules worldwide, startup …
Policy
January 15, 2021
European Commission: With startup friendly regulation, funding follows
For the last two weeks, the tech community has has been buzzing about the European Innovation Council’s startup investments (between 15-25 € million). The objective of the fund is to bridge the existing funding gap between Europe and the US and China as well as boosting innovation and job creation. Yet, while we believe the …
Latest News Policy
January 6, 2021
What’s in store for startup policy in 2021?
COVID-19 forced significant parts of the world population to turn to digital tools and platforms to perform daily tasks such as working, shopping or communicating. Policy makers are now responding to the increasing importance of tech in our lives. In the EU, this entails sweeping new rules for tech companies, ranging from rules for online …
DSA 4 Startups Policy
September 29, 2020
Our take on the European Parliament’s Initiative Reports on the Digital Services Act
At the end of this year, the European Commission will present its legislative proposal on the Digital Services Act. In the last week three European Parliament’s committees on the Internal Market, (IMCO) Legal Affairs (JURI) and Civil Liberties (LIBE) adopted their positions on the Digital Services Act. The DSA will affect over 10,000 platforms in …
Data Latest News Policy
September 22, 2020
Why data localisation is not an ingredient for economic growth
The European Union should not undercut its initiatives to ignite startup-fueled post-COVID-19 economic growth with costly and ineffective data localisation measures. When Commissioner Breton argues that “European data should be stored and processed in Europe”, this could pose significant damage to startup ecosystems and undermine much of the positive impact of recent free flow of …
Policy Uncategorized
September 3, 2020
What is the EU Startup Nation Standard and how can it boost economic growth?
In March of 2020, as part of the EU’s new industrial strategy for a globally competitive, green and digital Europe, the European Commission announced the EU Startup Nation Standard. At Allied for Startups we are thrilled that the Commission had listened to startup communities calls to make startups central to EU policy making. While we …
Policy
August 13, 2020
The key question for the COVID-19 recovery: Will this legislation make the EU more or less attractive for startups?
When starting up, an entrepreneur looks for a location that maximises his/her chance of success. This choice includes taking into account variables such as access to talent, finance, bureaucracy, size of market, and regulation. For a founder it is a complicated calculation which is constantly being updated. And it seems as if policy makers have …
Data Policy
July 29, 2020
Transatlantic Data Flows: So what are the options for startups?
Following the European Court of Justice’s landmark ruling on Privacy Shield, startup communities must strike one important mechanism off the list of avenues for transatlantic data transfers. It begs the question: why does this matter and what other mechanisms do startups have at their disposal? Data adequacy is granted by the European Commission if another …
DSA 4 Startups Policy
July 7, 2020
Key Arguments from Allied for Startups’ Response to the DSA Impact Assessments
As stakeholders share feedback on what needs to be changed in the innovation ecosystem, we use the Inception Impact Assessment Consultation on the DSA to take a step back and also look at what works for startups. Fundamentally, the online platform economy has not just been a source of innovation, growth and jobs in the …
Open Letter Policy
July 7, 2020
The response from the European Commission to startup communities on COVID-19
From the start of the COVID-19 crisis at Allied for Startups we have witnessed startups stepping up and providing solutions to the pandemic and the consequences of the lockdown. From medical and health solutions to ed-tech, entertainment and communications. In light of that, we sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula …