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."

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.

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.

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.

The Commerce Department doubled the number of foreign markets within its digital trade attache program, adding France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea, said the department in a Monday news release. “These digital trade officers serve as dedicated resources for U.S. businesses as they seek to increase exports through global E-commerce channels and navigate digital policy and regulatory issues in foreign markets," said Secretary Penny Pritzker. Officers also will help with navigating digital policy and regulatory issues in the markets, the department said. The program had covered the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Brazil, China, the EU, India and Japan.

Google agreed with Cuba telecom provider ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) to deploy the U.S. company's Global Cache service to speed YouTube videos and other high-bandwidth Google content viewed in the country, Google said in a Monday blog post. Cubans with internet access should have reduced latency for cached content, Google said. Engage Cuba, a coalition of companies and local leaders seeking to dismantle the Cuban embargo, sees the announcement as good for local startups. “The deal with Google will allow for increased activity and faster connections that will continue to benefit the Cuban people; in particular, the growing sector of Cuban entrepreneurs, or cuentapropistas, that relies heavily on access to internet to expand their private businesses,” said Engage Cuba President James Williams in a news release.

National Security Adviser Susan Rice pressed during a meeting Thursday with Chinese Minister for Public Security Guo Shengkun for China to fully adhere to the anti-cybertheft agreement that President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached in 2015 (see 1509250059), the National Security Council said. Rice also told Guo that U.S. officials are concerned “about the potential impacts” of a newly enacted Chinese cybersecurity law that includes data localization rules, NSC said. 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. During an official joint dialogue a day earlier, Guo and Attorney General Loretta Lynch acknowledged continued progress on China-U.S. cybersecurity cooperation.