The Belgian govt. said Wed. a preliminary investigation showed it had no power over transfer of bank transaction data by SWIFT to the American govt. “After the first analysis of our reports, it appears that all the information furnished by SWIFT to the U.S. Treasury was done through the normal activities of its U.S. subsidiary,” the Belgian govt. said. It still needed to receive a final report before making a decision on the matter, the govt. said, promising to communicate its conclusions to the Belgian parliament, but not giving any timetable for that. SWIFT said it had done nothing that violated the privacy of customers, and that it had done nothing illegal. In a statement, SWIFT said it negotiated with the “U.S. Treasury over the scope and oversight of the subpoenas.”
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the final results of its countervailing (CV) duty administrative review of certain pasta from Italy for the period of January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004.
The Entertainment Merchants Assn. (EMA) and Entertainment Software Assn. (ESA) sued another state for a violent videogame law they believe violates First Amendment rights. This time, the groups filed a suit in U.S. Dist. Court, Oklahoma City, to overturn Okla. House Bill 3004, signed into law June 9 and slated to take effect Nov. 1.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:
The EC should not keep regulators from promoting competition if it deregulates telecom markets, the European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA) said Fri. On Wed., the EC is expected to unveil recommendations on whether some of 18 markets subject to possible pre-emptive competition rules under the e-communication regulatory framework should come off that list. Last week it the Commission seemed ready to remove 7, including several retail markets (CD June 23 p9). ECTA Regulatory Affairs Head Ilsa Godlovitch, emphasizing the general and preliminary nature of her comments, told us there’s strong evidence effective pro-competition regulation drives investment and broadband takeup, “as can be seen in countries such as the U.K. [first in Europe to liberalize] and France [impressive broadband growth following regulatory intervention].” Now isn’t the time to declaw regulators, but to ensure they have strong tools to force access where needed and to prevent the kinds of behavior that undermine competitors’ business plans and investments, she said.
Attorney gens. (AG) in 44 states got material that could help identify as many as 500 individuals who may have bought online child porn, Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.) said Fri. The files, sent to AGs by the House Commerce Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, initially came to lawmakers from witnesses at a hearing earlier this year on online child sexual exploitation.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has made a final affirmative antidumping (AD) duty determination that metal calendar slides from Japan are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The EC should not keep regulators from promoting competition if it deregulates telecom markets, the European Competitive Telecom Assn. (ECTA) said Fri. On Wed., the EC is expected to unveil recommendations on whether some of 18 markets subject to possible pre-emptive competition rules under the e-communication regulatory framework should come off that list. Last week it the Commission seemed ready to remove 7, including several retail markets (WID June 23 p9). ECTA Regulatory Affairs Head Ilsa Godlovitch, emphasizing the general and preliminary nature of her comments, told us there’s strong evidence effective pro-competition regulation drives investment and broadband takeup, “as can be seen in countries such as the U.K. [first in Europe to liberalize] and France [impressive broadband growth following regulatory intervention].” Now isn’t the time to declaw regulators, but to ensure they have strong tools to force access where needed and to prevent the kinds of behavior that undermine competitors’ business plans and investments, she said.
The European Commission (EC) plans to deregulate 7 telecom markets, including those for local, national and international calls to retail customers, the Financial Times reported Thurs. The proposal, part of EC recommendations to update its e-communication regulatory framework (NRF), won’t be unveiled formally until June 28, but enough information on it was circulating Thurs. to prompt preliminary comments from several industry players.
The European Commission (EC) plans to deregulate 7 telecom markets, the Financial Times reported Thurs. -- but apparently not broadband fiber, an attorney said. The proposal, part of EC recommendations to update its e- communication regulatory framework (NRF), won’t be unveiled formally until June 28, but enough information on it was circulating Thurs. to prompt preliminary comments from several industry players.