Communications groups backed updating the North American Free Trade Agreement and made recommendations to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative in comments posted in docket USTR-2017-0006 this week. The Telecommunications Industry Association proposed new provisions on "free cross-border transfers of data," "Mexico's timely accession to the Information Technology Agreement, to which the U.S. and Canada already belong," "fair competition with state-owned enterprises," agency transparency and notice-and-comment requirements, and a prohibition on foreign telecom ownership limits, including for spectrum licenses. TIA backed keeping and enforcing provisions on "open, non-discriminatory and reciprocal market access in government procurement" and various standards issues, including "mutual recognition of standards and certification bodies for telecom equipment." The Computing Technology Industry Association said U.S. tech companies benefited under NAFTA from "tariff reductions, strong intellectual property rights, licensing rules, patent protections, and preferential rules of origin," and it urged prioritizing World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement adherence, import/export license procedures, government procurement, digital trade and e-commerce, and several customs and trade-facilitation objectives. The Internet Infrastructure Coalition focused on encryption, national security exceptions, certification requirements, intellectual property and digital trade, including data flows, localization, regulatory transparency and intermediary liability. Engine said business startups would benefit if key protections under U.S. law are added to NAFTA, such as "the protection of cross-border data flows, intermediary liability protections and copyright safe harbors."

Though President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement (see 1706050032), the tech industry “remains committed to the goals of the accord, and our determination to combat the threats posed by climate change has not wavered,” said Rick Goss, Information Technology Industry Council senior vice president-environment and sustainability, in a Monday blog post. Support for the Paris agreement “is consistent with the core values of the tech industry,” said Goss. “We believe that operating a business in a sustainable fashion is not only good for the environment and our customers, but also for the U.S. economy and the American worker. No matter if you live in a red state or blue state, renewable jobs are coming to a place near you.” Failure of the U.S. “to build a low-carbon economy puts American prosperity at risk and hands the leadership role -- and the jobs and economic benefits that go with that -- to other countries,” he said. “The right action right now will create jobs and boost U.S. competitiveness.”

President Donald Trump's intention to roll back changes to U.S. policy to Cuba would be a setback for the American technology industry, blogged TechFreedom Friday. “One way or another, Cuba’s economic future is digital,” said Austin Carson, the group's executive director. “We’re separated by a mere 90 miles, but returning to a Cold War policy that failed for almost six decades is the best way to ensure that Russia and China -- not the United States -- will have the most influence on Cuba’s burgeoning tech and telecom sectors." During the presidential campaign, Trump said he would reverse the Obama administration's opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba, and, recently, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president is reviewing the policy. TechFreedom said many tech and telecom companies from other countries can operate freely within Cuba, while American ones are "shut out by our own government." The organization said it's a member of Engage Cuba, a national coalition of companies, groups and others focused on lifting the decades-old embargo against Cuba.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose district is home to major tech companies, invited British Prime Minister Theresa May to meet with Silicon Valley leaders, after she criticized the industry for creating a "safe space" for extremist ideology. In a Wednesday news release outlining a letter, Khanna hoped the prime minister will come "to discuss the role technology companies play in helping combat the ideas that threaten international peace and prosperity." He cited Facebook's announcement to hire 3,000 new employees to review reports of inappropriate and violent content (see 1705040031) and Twitter's efforts to suspend accounts involving terrorism. The day after Saturday's terrorist attack in London, May said internet companies provide a safe space for terrorist ideology to proliferate. "We need to work with allied, democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorist planning," she said.

President Donald Trump’s administration should “press China to change its course” on its recently implemented cybersecurity law, the Computer & Communications Industry Association Monday told National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn. The law, which took effect last week, drew opposition from CCIA and other U.S.-based interests because it includes data localization rules (see 1612080077, 1703080067 and 1705150067). Addressing the Chinese law “is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the Administration’s commitment to winning on behalf of America’s most productive and job-creating companies,” CCIA said. “Without the Administration’s support -- or with its indifference -- all industry sectors that rely on high-tech goods and services will continue to get a bad deal as they look to compete in China.”

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, European Digital Media Association, Mozilla and more than 60 others urged the European Council and European Parliament Monday to put work on copyright law revamp legislation “back on the right track” while “there is still time.” Both EU bodies have drawn criticism from CCIA and other U.S.-based entities over the direction of work in EC’s digital single market strategy. Consideration of a possible pan-EU ancillary copyright, seen as a tax on use of news snippets, has been a lightning rod (see 1703080067). The ancillary copyright proposal and language that would require service providers to monitor content uploaded by subscribers to ensure it's not copyright-protected are “backward-looking,” the entities wrote EU officials: The proposal should be rejected in favor of “a more ambitious agenda for positive reform.”

Developing countries could boost their economies by billions of dollars if they signed on to the 1996 Information Technology Agreement, reported the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Monday. The ITA eliminates tariffs on hundreds of information and communication technology products for its current 82 signatory countries, but some developing countries haven’t signed because they don’t want to give up income generated by targeted tariffs, ITIF said. Economic growth and associated increase in tax revenue that would accompany ITA “would bolster Argentina’s economic growth by an estimated 1.52 percent, or $12.7 billion in additional output, in the 10th year; Cambodia’s by 0.98 percent or $320 million; Chile’s by 0.23 percent or $920 million; Kenya’s by 1.29 percent or $1.4 billion; Pakistan’s by 1.30 percent or $4.6 billion; and South Africa’s by 0.17 percent or $770 million.” ITIF said Chile and South Africa would see a smaller economic impact from signing on because “these countries already have relatively low tariff rates on ITA-covered ICT products.”

The European Commission fined Facebook about $122.2 million after deciding the company gave "incorrect or misleading information" about its acquisition of WhatsApp during a 2014 merger review, said a Thursday EC news release. The decision focused on Facebook's comments during the EC review that it wouldn't be able to establish automated matching between user accounts of both companies -- statements the company made in the notification form and in response to the commission's request for information. In August, WhatsApp announced it would share some user account information with Facebook, which privacy advocates said violated privacy promises (see 1608250027 and 1609220031). Those groups filed a complaint with the FTC and said the agency would investigate (see 1609070022). The EC "decision sends a clear signal to companies that they must comply with all aspects of EU merger rules, including the obligation to provide correct information," said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who oversees competition policy. "It imposes a proportionate and deterrent fine on Facebook. The Commission must be able to take decisions about mergers' effects on competition in full knowledge of accurate facts." Facebook blogged it "acted in good faith" with the EC from the beginning and always sought to provide accurate information. "The errors we made in our 2014 filings were not intentional and the Commission has confirmed that they did not impact the outcome of the merger review [and] brings this matter to a close," it said. The EC said the decision "is unrelated to either ongoing national antitrust procedures or privacy, data protection or consumer protection issues, which may arise following the August 2016 update of WhatsApp terms of service and privacy policy."

The U.S. Council for International Business, Computer and Communications Industry Association and more than 50 other entities jointly urged the Chinese government Monday to delay its planned June 1 implementation of a cybersecurity law that includes data localization rules. Opponents claim the law has the potential to bar foreign-based tech firms from industries that China deems “critical,” and could increase China’s online censorship (see 1612080077 and 1703080067). “China’s current course risks compromising its legitimate security objectives (and may even weaken security) while burdening industry and undermining the foundation of China’s relations with its commercial partners,” the groups said in a letter to the Chinese Communist Party Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs and other Chinese government entities, “Our organizations remain concerned that China’s current approach is leading to greater separation rather than integration among our economies.” The law also may “exacerbate troubling trends in markets around the world that move China away from cooperative trade and the benefits of global trade,” the groups said: Information and communication technology measures “should be narrowly tailored, reflect international norms, be non-discriminatory and consistent with WTO [World Trade Organization] agreements to which China is a party. In order to ensure compliance with international standards and best security practices, we further recommend that Chinese agencies consult and work closely with industry experts and other stakeholders throughout the regulatory and implementation process.”

The International Competition Network adopted four new recommended practices on the types of transactions subject to merger review, plus merger notification thresholds, remedies and efficiencies, said the FTC in a Friday news release. ICN, a global network of 135 member agencies from 122 jurisdictions that strives to build consensus on sound competition policy principles, also adopted a framework for analyzing unilateral conduct, guiding principles for market studies and a report on establishing cartel fines, the agency said. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen and acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the DOJ's Antitrust Division led the U.S. delegation at ICN's annual conference in Portugal. “The world’s competition agencies demonstrate a shared commitment to strive toward convergence on sound competition analysis and fair process in antitrust investigations,” said Ohlhausen. The release said DOJ co-chairs the Unilateral Conduct Working Group, which completed a two-year project on issues faced by agencies when creating unilateral conduct enforcement policies, namely "what is dominance and what makes conduct exclusionary." The Agency Effectiveness Working Group produced a report on competition agencies' social media usage, strategies and lessons learned and another on staff training, said the FTC. It said the Advocacy Working Group produced a Market Studies Guiding Principles, "a compilation of effective practices for agencies to consider when undertaking studies to understand the state of competition in specific sectors."