The Trans-Pacific Partnership supports U.S. technology leadership globally and will be a driver for economic growth and job creation, TechNet said in a news release Monday. TechNet urged Congress to approve TPP, identifying "key provisions" that are important to the technology sector, including "rules and regulations to increase fair competition and consumer protection in the tech sector," guarantees of "nearly unrestricted" cross-border data flows, prohibitions against "forced localization" of data and the elimination of tariffs and duties on digital products. "Our nation's ability to continue to lead in this [technology] sector is dependent on access to the fastest growing markets in the world and the uninhibited flow of data across borders," said TechNet CEO Linda Moore.
The Obama administration hopes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 1512150039) will be implemented by the end of January 2018, though several hurdles remain, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Friday at a CES workshop webcast from Las Vegas. TPP legislation must first pass Congress, where an anti-TPP coalition recently formed, as well as be approved by several other countries’ governments, where signing the agreement into law requires more “gambles” than for this country, Froman said. One workshop attendee, Audio Control CEO Alex Camara, voiced concern that China compulsory certification regulations are unnecessarily complex and difficult, but also expressed excitement about the prospect for more uniform regulations under TPP. Froman said Camara’s was a “very common complaint,” and TPP “won’t necessarily harmonize standards,” but will prevent countries from forcing industry to adopt local standards not in line with international benchmarks. The TPP “builds upon obligations these companies already have to the World Trade Organization,” Froman said. “It goes further and makes sure we can enforce their openness as far as how standards are set, the application of international standards and making sure these are best practices.”
Import data for goods regulated by the FCC can be filed through Customs and Border Protection's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) until July 1, when a waiver of FCC Form 740 requirements takes effect, the commission said Wednesday. The FCC issued the notice as a clarification of its plans to waive the requirements when the Automated Commercial System (ACS) is shut down and the use of ACE is required for electronic filing (see 1510190056), it said. "The Commission’s characterization in the Order of CBP’s ACS as the current system used for filing Form 740 information has been misinterpreted by some affected parties." Despite those misconceptions, the FCC "did not establish any prohibitions regarding the use of the ACE," it said. The form will be required until July 1, after which "any obligation to file the Form would be suspended and the requirement waived until December 31, 2016," the FCC said. Intel had said the form's requirements were unclear for this year's second half (see 1512140011).
Netflix's footprint has expanded to more than 130 additional countries, the online video distributor said at CES Wednesday in a news release. It also said it added Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports. Netflix said its service remains unavailable in China, but it "continues to explore options for providing the service."
The CSG Ascendon digital services platform now supports a "new membership-based service" available in the U.K., CSG said in a news release Tuesday. CSG's platform allows users to add "up to 10 compatible devices" with a subscription and watch movies and TV shows and read books in up to five languages, it said.
The International Trade Commission is seeking comment by Jan. 12 on Advanced Silicon Technologies' Tariff Act Section 337 complaint for an investigation into patent infringement by imports of computing or graphics systems and vehicles containing them. Advanced Silicon said several companies import automotive in-vehicle infotainment systems that provide drivers with various amenities, such as sending texts or making phone calls, managing and playing audio and video content, and accessing content such as sports scores and weather forecasts, that infringe its patents. The petition requests a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale of infringing merchandise by BMW, Harman Becker, Nvidia, Texas Instruments and other companies. None of the companies commented Tuesday. Advanced Silicon's ITC complaint, was filed Dec. 28, said the agency in a notice in the Federal Register Monday.
Members of the ITU approved an international standard on cloud-based big data, the group said in a news release Friday. The standard "details the requirements, capabilities and use cases" of cloud-based big data and outlines how cloud computing systems "can be leveraged to provide big data services, assisting industry in the management of large datasets" that can't be transferred and analyzed by traditional data-management technologies, ITU said.
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee overwhelmingly approved the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), intended to create a uniform set of data protection rules and give the EU's 500 million citizens more control over how their information is used (see 1512160001). The committee Thursday voted 53-2 with one abstention in favor of the 204-page regulation agreed to by the parliament and council Tuesday, a parliament news release said. It said the GDPR must still be voted on by the full parliament in spring, probably March or April, and then the EU's 28 member states have two years to "transpose the provisions of the new directive into their national laws." Marju Lauristin, the lead member of the European Parliament on the directive, said in a statement that "these rules, applying to cooperation between EU member states and with third countries on transferring and processing of data, should facilitate the sharing of information, while at the same time ensuring that European citizens’ fundamental rights are not violated." While GDPR gives EU citizens more say in how their data can be used through a codified right to be forgotten and informed consent, among other provisions, advocates said the regulation also cuts down on red tape by harmonizing 28 different standards and applying uniform enforcement. But several business officials said GDPR may create more complexity and bureaucracy (see 1512150004).
The International Chamber of Commerce is urging World Trade Organization members meeting this week at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi to conclude an information technology tariff elimination agreement, which ICC said in a news release Tuesday could inject up to $190 billion into the global economy. The tariff elimination deal would be the first completed in nearly 20 years. ICC wants expanded product coverage under the WTO Information Technology Agreement 2, and continued absence of customs duties on e-commerce. "Despite standstills in negotiations technology and high-tech, products have continued to develop at a rapid pace, along with the business and organizational models that rely on them to thrive,” said ICC Secretary General John Danilovich. “The WTO ministerial is a real opportunity to make progress on this element of the global trade agenda that would reap the benefits of the digital economy and create significant boosts to international trade."
The Information Technology Industry Council supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it said in a policy position statement released Monday. ITI called the trade agreement a "vital tool to promote durable growth and innovation" and to expand the "social and economic benefits" of the digital economy, and lauded provisions in the deal on cross-border data flows, information and communications technology market access, strong and balanced intellectual property rules and regulatory transparency. "After reviewing the agreement, we have decided to support the TPP, because it offers tremendous growth and innovation opportunities for the technology sector and our economy," ITI CEO Dean Garfield said. TPP "will promote an open, pro-innovation environment for the digital economy globally" and is a "strong rebuke against digital protectionism," ITI said.