The FCC issued its 2016 universal service monitoring report Friday, providing updated information on USF telecom subsidy programs and their impact. Retail telecom revenue subject to assessments for industry USF contributions continued to drop, totaling $30.6 billion in the first half of 2016, after being $63.9 billion in all of 2015, $66.9 billion in 2014 and $68.4 billion in 2013, while USF disbursements have fluctuated, totaling $8.4 billion in 2015, after being $7.9 billion in 2014, $8.3 billion in 2013 and $8.7 billion in 2012, said the lengthy report in docket 10-90. It was released by the Wireline Bureau and is the work of staff members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service.

Switzerland and the U.S. agreed on a new framework for transferring personal data of Swiss citizens to American companies similar to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield that came into force in August (see 1608010017), said Switzerland in a Wednesday news release. The new framework replaces an older arrangement between the two countries. "The Swiss-US Privacy Shield is needed for the secure, efficient and rapid transfer of data," said the release. "The USA does not have legislation on data protection that guarantees an adequate level of protection in terms of Swiss law." Improvements include: a "stricter application of data protection principles" by participating companies; oversight of the arrangement by U.S. authorities; and closer cooperation between the Department of Commerce and Switzerland's Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. "An arbitration body is being introduced to deal with claims that remain unresolved through other available remedies. Lastly, people living in Switzerland will be able to address enquiries relating to the processing of their data by US intelligence services to an ombudsperson in the US State Department," the release said. The government said U.S. companies will get certification under the new arrangement. Commerce didn't comment Wednesday.

The Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee plans to meet Jan. 25, said a notice to be published in Wednesday's Federal Register. ISTAC advises the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Export Administration on technical questions affecting export controls for information systems equipment and technology. The meeting is at 9 a.m. in the Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street, between Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues NW.

GTT Communications completed its acquisition of Hibernia Networks, the companies said in news releases Monday (here and here). The acquisition gives GTT control of Hibernia's five undersea cables, eight cable landing stations, global points of presence, optical and low-latency transport, video and content delivery network services, and "key relationships with marquee clients" in the "financial services, media and entertainment, and web-centric and service provider segments," GTT said. The announcements came after the FCC Wireline Bureau recently cleared GTT to take control of Hibernia's communications licenses, subject to certain assurances sought by the Department of Homeland Security and other executive branch departments regarding the latter's Atlantic cable system and Project Express system (see 1701090042). A GTT spokeswoman said the FCC also approved the transfer of Hibernia's international services through action in the International Bureau's filing system. "That approval should be referenced next public notice, which is released by the International Bureau every two weeks," she emailed Tuesday. GTT calls itself "the leading global cloud networking provider to multinational clients" while Hibernia says it's "a leading provider" of global telecom services.

A Macau man arrested Christmas Day in Hong Kong and awaiting extradition to the U.S. and two other defendants face computer intrusion, insider trading and wire fraud charges for allegedly stealing proprietary information hacked from networks and servers of several "prominent" New York City law firms, said DOJ in a Tuesday news release. Justice unsealed a 13-count superseding indictment against Iat Hong, Bo Zheng and Chin Hung, who allegedly targeted at least seven unidentified law firms and other organizations from April 2014 through late 2015, the release said. DOJ said the defendants targeted email accounts at the firms, which worked on high-profile merger-and-acquisition transactions, and then, based on inside information, bought stock in certain companies, "which were expected to, and typically did, increase in value once the transactions were announced." Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the defendants made more than $4 million in illegal profits. "This case of cyber meets securities fraud should serve as a wake-up call for law firms around the world: you are and will be targets of cyber hacking, because you have information valuable to would-be criminals,” he said. Hong, 25, was arrested Sunday and is going through extradition proceedings, but DOJ didn't provide the status of 50-year-old Hung, a Macau resident, and Zheng, a 30-year-old resident of China.

Facebook provided "incorrect or misleading information" about its planned acquisition of WhatsApp during the European Commission review of the 2014 takeover, alleged the EC. It sent a statement of objections to the social media platform, said a Tuesday news release. If the allegations are confirmed, the EC said it could impose a fine up to 1 percent of Facebook's revenue, but the current investigation won't affect the acquisition of WhatsApp since approval was based on a variety of factors. A coalition of consumer and privacy groups in September asked the FTC to investigate WhatsApp's privacy policy changes that would permit the sharing of some user information with Facebook, which the groups allege is a violation of the commitments made by the companies when they combined (see 1609220031). The EC said Facebook indicated in 2014 that "it would be unable to establish reliable automated matching between the two companies' user accounts." The EC said it "takes the preliminary view" that it was technically possible in 2014 to automatically match users' IDs of both companies, despite what Facebook said. "The Commission therefore has concerns that Facebook intentionally, or negligently, submitted incorrect or misleading information to the Commission, in breach of its obligations under the EU Merger Regulation," the release said. Facebook will have until Jan. 31 to respond to the EC. In an online statement, the company said it's "confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith" and has "consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities and plans."

Enforcement involving Customs and Border Protection, DOJ and Immigration and Customs Enforcement is targeting illegal imports of some technology products, ICE announced. Operation Surge Protector "will focus on electronics vulnerable to counterfeiting, including phony digital media devices," that agency said Wednesday. Government "collaboration with industry and external law-enforcement agencies has revealed that counterfeit electronics are a serious threat to public safety,” said Peter Edge, executive associate director of ICE Homeland Security Investigations. The intergovernmental National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center decided to review its enforcement work in this area after an increase in seizures of lithium battery-powered products in 2016, said ICE.

Aircharge, maker of Qi wireless charging technology, installed wireless charging units in public locations at London’s Heathrow Airport, said a company announcement Friday. Travelers can place phones with built-in Qi on one of the Aircharge units in Rhubarb restaurant at Terminal 3 and Pilots Bar & Kitchen at Terminal 5, said the company. Charging facilities are also available in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and Novotel and Ibis hotels at Heathrow. The Aircharge app can point users to the nearest of 4,000 public wireless charging stations worldwide, it said.

Twenty-First Century Fox is offering Sky shareholders roughly $13.34 per share in its planned takeover of the U.K. pay-TV company (1612090029), it said in a news release Thursday. Twenty-First Century Fox said that's roughly a 40 percent premium and the deal is expected to close before the end of 2017, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. It said Sky's independent board committee plans to recommend the acquisition terms unanimously.

Amazon added Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy and Spain to the list of countries where Prime members can watch Prime Video at no additional cost to their membership, it announced Wednesday. It’s offering Prime Video in other new territories at an introductory price of $2.99 or 2.99 euros per month for the first six months, along with a free seven-day trial, it said. Prime Video is now available in nearly every country; China isn't on the list. Content includes Amazon originals such as Transparent, The Grand Tour and The Man in the High Castle and “hundreds” of movies from Hollywood studios and network TV, Amazon said. Members can watch Prime Video in English, with French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles, and dubbed versions are also available for many titles. Members can watch content through the Amazon Prime Video app on Android and iOS phones and tablets, Fire tablets, LG and Samsung Smart TVs or online at Primevideo.com. Members can also download movies and TV shows for offline viewing on a plane or train at no additional cost, it said.