Association for Competitive Technology

07/30/2026

A new voluntary age signal API for the Google Play store puts parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to how much of their kids’ data is shared with apps. Through the Google Family Link app, parents can decide to share their kids’ age range or not in one place.

This is an especially beneficial roll out for small developers, like ACT’s members. It gives small tech companies the flexibility they need. For our members like TechNeed who build B2B management apps that pose no risk to kids, they can continue publishing as a general use app and avoid the costly build out of a system to check age. For our members like Vemos that built a mobile payments app used in bars and restaurants and Southern DNA that have built education apps for kids, this new signal provides the minimum information needed to tailor access and content appropriately.

And for big developers who are required to provide different experiences for minors vs. adults, like social media, or for adults-only services, like dating apps, this new signal provides the information they need to bar kids from downloading or accessing restricted or inappropriate content.

This is what responsible development looks like. Protecting kids is a shared responsibility, not just for parents, developers, app stores, or policymakers. Working together the ecosystem can protect kids and drive innovation.

Google is expanding its Play Age Signals API, giving Android developers a privacy-preserving way to tailor experiences based on users' age ranges.

07/06/2026

🌍This we are shouting out members Jason Culloty (Skillsvista), Musa Hakim Jr. (Lazy Moose Co.), and Dylan McKee (Nebula Labs). Tomorrow, on July 7, ACT, they will join ACT Founder Mike Sax at the WSIS Forum 2026 for a panel on competition policy, platform ecosystems, and fair opportunities for small developers.

Join us in person at ITU Tower Building, Room T103 in Geneva, or attend virtually. July 7, 16:00–16:45 UTC+2.
Register here: https://loom.ly/oGihdO8

06/29/2026

⚖️ If you're building in Europe right now, policy is already affecting your bottom line. The 28th regime is a real opportunity to level the playing field for SMEs. ACT member company Rize helps small teams bill accurately and compete without the overhead big tech absorbs easily. Fair rules make it possible for SMEs like Rize to compete at a global scale.

Learn more about Rize below 👇

06/25/2026

🤳 Live from the Capitol, ACT's Graham Dufault breaks down the latest on age verification and what it means for your app. If you build or distribute software, this one's for you. Watch the video, then check out our resources below to understand your compliance obligations and what to do next.

✔️ ABCs of Age Verification: https://loom.ly/WtdEJfg
✔️ 123s of Age Verification Compliance: https://loom.ly/-Tcyb6w

06/24/2026

ICYMI: Last month, over 45 startup founders and small tech leaders came to Washington, D.C. for our final Global App Economy Conference (GAEC) of the year! 🏛️🇺🇸

Across four action-packed days of networking, education, and advocacy, our members brought their real-world stories directly to the decision-makers. Together, they completed nearly 90 meetings on Capitol Hill and with key regulatory agencies, putting small companies in the room while the rules are still being written.

Top issues on the table included:
🤖 Navigating the pace of AI development and how to build responsibly
🔒 Discussing the real-world impacts of privacy, online safety, and age verification proposals
💡Taking stock of recent wins, like the restoration of Section 174 for R&D deductions

We are incredibly grateful to our members for taking the time to advocate for the broader startup community, and to the policymakers who listened and engaged.

Read the full recap of GAEC U.S. 2026 and see what’s next:

ACT’s Annual Global App Economy Conferences (GAECs) bring our startup and tech members together for three days of founder-to-founder networking and direct engagement with policymakers. GAECs are the culmination of what we do at ACT, bringing our three pillars together in one event that fosters Com...

06/24/2026

Over the past month, the Developed: UK Tour took us from Belfast to Glasgow, Manchester, London, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Durham, and Newcastle 🚀

📍 Along the way, we met with members, founders, investors, developers, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders to talk about what it takes to build and grow a tech company in the UK today.

The details varied from city to city, but a few themes came up again and again: access to capital, the opportunities and challenges around AI, the importance of strong local ecosystems, and the need for policy conversations that reflect the realities facing startups and small businesses.

📈 From startup showcases and roundtables to community mixers, a Parliamentary drop in, and a panel at TechNExt, Developed: UK created space for those conversations to happen in the places where innovation is already happening.

Thank you to every partner, speaker, member, founder, and community leader who welcomed us along the way! We learned a lot, made new connections, and came away with an even deeper appreciation for the strength of tech ecosystem across the UK!

06/22/2026

🔍 Small tech founders are competing in an environment shaped by larger players with deeper pockets, bigger teams, and faster access to capital. That imbalance makes it critical that SMEs build with precision from the start.

ACT member company Qube Catalyst works with funded founders to close the gap between what they built and what users actually need, before that gap becomes a runway problem. The UK has the talent and the innovation. Now more than ever, policymakers need to recognise the SMEs driving the UK's GDP and make sure the rules being written make it easier for them to compete, not harder.

Learn more about Qube Catalyst below 👇

06/18/2026

Google I/O 2026 showcased incredible product innovations—from generative UI and mini apps to information agents. These updates offer small business developers expanded surface area to build, scale, and reach new consumers.

But for tech policy observers, a massive shadow looms over these advancements: the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Under the DMA's strict "self-preferencing" prohibitions (Article 6(5)), providing advanced features on top of core platform services could open up developers to heavy regulatory barriers and spark prolonged investigations.

This serves as a stark warning for U.S. policymakers, especially following the reintroduction of similar legislation like AICOA. If you want consumers and developers to benefit from cutting-edge innovation, European-style mandates will only defeat that purpose.

Read our Google I/O recap:

  A few weeks ago, I traveled to Mountain View for my first ever in-person Google I/O experience. The presentations included live demonstrations and concrete examples illustrating how updates across a wide range of Google services will meaningfully benefit small businesses and consumers. The event ...

06/18/2026

A startup track panel at TechNExt, one final rooftop mixer in Newcastle, and England’s first win in the World Cup is the perfect way to close the Developed: UK Tour 🚀⚽️

ACT joined TechNExt in Durham for a panel with some of our local North East members, digging into what they’re building, what makes the region stand out, and what startups need to keep growing here.

Then we headed to A Byte in the Sun with Silicon Mingle at The Grove in Byker, bringing together founders, engineers, developers, and independent app makers from across the North East for BBQ, drinks, and proper community conversation.

🗓️ After a month on the road, this was the right final chapter: local insight, regional pride, good people, and a strong reminder that startup communities thrive when there is space to connect.

Huge thanks to TechNExt, Silicon Mingle, our North East members, and everyone who joined us.

06/17/2026

What happens in California rarely stays in California—especially when it comes to technology policy.

The state’s proposed COMPETE Act (AB 1776) claims to protect competition and support small businesses. In practice, it does the exact opposite. By replacing predictable competition rules with a vague, untested state-specific liability framework, AB 1776 strips away critical safeguards like market-power thresholds and familiar limiting principles.

Startups compete by moving fast and leveraging the bundled services that platforms provide to reduce costs and help them scale. This bill casts a dark legal cloud over those ordinary growth strategies.

Our latest blog breaks down why the COMPETE Act represents a dangerous shift toward antitrust overreach that will ultimately hurt small business innovators: https://actonline.org/2026/06/05/californias-compete-act-is-the-latest-sign-of-a-broader-antitrust-push-against-the-tech-ecosystem/
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  California’s technology policy choices rarely stay in California. That is especially true when lawmakers target the platforms, tools, and increasingly the AI-enabled services that many startups and small businesses rely on every day. That is why AB 1776, the COMPETE Act, has taken on such impor...