Remove Roadblocks to Innovation

Introduction

The United States needs to create a regulatory environment that encourages and enables innovation, rather than one that threatens U.S. competitiveness with an inflexible and outdated approach.

To maintain its role as the top global destination for innovation, the United States must modernize regulatory systems for the innovation age and harmonize approaches to data privacy and security.

Key Trends

Outdated regulations and inflexible standards threaten American competitiveness in a rapidly changing landscape. By 2020 there could be 50 billion internet-connected devices, but U.S. companies face serious regulatory barriers to innovative activity.

50 Billion Internet-Connected Devices

50 Billion: By 2020 it is estimated that there will be 50 billion devices connected to the internet.
  • Approx. 65 million devices

America’s Regulation Stagnation

Regulation Stagnation Frequency at which developed countries update their regulations, OECD Index, Regulatory Governance Data.

Regulations Can't Keep Up with Technology

In 2012, rule-making requiring notice and comment periods took an average of 18 months. That’s the same amount of time Moore’s law states that it takes to double the number of transistors that can fit on a computer chip.

U.S. Falling Behind Other Developed Nations

America has dropped to 17th in regulatory quality in the Global Innovation Index.

“We propose a national law on privacy that provides core consumer privacy rights.”
Julie Sweet
North America | Accenture, CEO

Inconsistent Regulations Lead to Complexity and Confusion

Each state has its own security breach notification legislation, resulting in sometimes incompatible provisions.

Policy Recommendations

The United States needs to create a regulatory environment that encourages and enables innovation, rather than one that threatens U.S. competitiveness with an inflexible and outdated approach. Below are our recommendations on how to achieve these goals.