NASE in the News

NASE Expresses Concern Over Measures Designed to Threaten the Advancement of the American Small Business Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2021
CONTACT: Kristofer Eisenla, LUNA+EISENLA media
kristofer@lunaeisenlamedia.com | 202-670-5747 (mobile)

Small Businesses Adapted to the Pandemic by Using Digital Tools to Ensure the Survival of their Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to recent anti-trust legislation introduced in Congress designed to reign in big tech companies, Keith Hall, president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, today expressed concern these “potentially harmful measures will impact the ability for Americans of ‘going it alone’ and ‘being their own boss,’ by threatening solo entrepreneurs, startup companies, and small businesses from forming as they require and depend on tech platforms to not only open their new business, but also conduct activities on these tech platforms.”

“Millions of current and potentially new small businesses depend on these tech platforms to not only conduct business, but also get their new small business up and running,” said Keith Hall. “We should be focused on making it easier for America’s small business community to thrive by tearing down regulatory barriers, not building and enforcing new ones. During the pandemic, many small businesses and solo entrepreneurs quickly adapted and turned to the use of digital tools to carry out the functions of their business – from payment to service and product delivery – to ensure their survival. These proposed measures would have a devastating impact on their ability to get to the other side of this crisis.”

The introduction of the package reported in The Hill describes the measures “made up of five bills that would give regulators greater authority to rein in the power of tech giants.” Hall was recently quoted in the Associated Press/Nerdwallet story discussing how small businesses adapted to the pandemic, and penned a guest piece in Home Business Magazine focusing on use of digital tools.

“It’s the true entrepreneurial spirit of the American small business community that helps fuel America’s middle class and the local and national economy. After a devastating pandemic, now is the not the time to continue to keep our community at a disadvantage by continuing to tie one hand being their back.

“We will monitor developments and continue to be an advocate with our policy makers ensuring they are aware of the potential consequences and impact this will have on our community, the economy, and our nation,” concluded Hall.

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The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, offering a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy.

The NASE Next Biz Thing helps identify and connect our nation’s smallest businesses. Need small business help? Check out NASE’s Ask the Experts for advice or the NASE Minute for small business support.

The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's website at NASE.org