“Growing concerns” about the coronavirus persuaded Facebook to cancel its May 5-6 “F8" developers conference in San Jose, blogged Director-Developer Platforms Konstantinos Papamiltiadis Thursday. “This was a tough call,” he said. “We explored other ways to keep the in-person part of F8, but it’s important to us to host an inclusive event and it didn’t feel right to have F8 without our international developers in attendance.” The company plans to replace the conference with “a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content,” with additional details in “coming weeks,” he said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., seeks Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. review of national security implications of AT&T’s upcoming sale of its majority stake in Central European Media Group Enterprises to Czech Republic-based private equity firm PPF Group. AT&T said in October it would sell its share of CME for $1.1 billion in cash and be relieved of a $575 million debt guarantee. The Trump administration “needs to conduct closer reviews of corporate deals like AT&T’s sale of CME, and understand how the Chinese government and Communist Party work through proxies like PPF,” Rubio wrote Attorney General William Barr and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, released Wednesday. “Failure to do so undercuts U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party’s political interference.” PPF and CEO Petr Kellner “have a record of acting as China’s proxies inside the Czech Republic” and “have supported China’s malign activities abroad,” Rubio said. PPF “has already used its expected acquisition of CME's Czech media outlets to intimidate Czech media and politicians into silence.” AT&T didn’t comment Thursday.

Three Democratic 2020 presidential candidates said they wouldn’t allow Chinese companies to build critical U.S. infrastructure, during a Tuesday night debate. None of the three -- former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- specifically mentioned Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., reached a deal before the Presidents Day recess for the chamber to soon pass the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) by unanimous consent (see 2002130054). The House-passed bill would allocate at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. The three candidates pivoted to other issues on China, including whether President Xi Jinping is a dictator. Bloomberg emphasized it’s important for the U.S. to push China to uphold trade agreements that bar the “stealing of intellectual property.” The FCC asked eligible telecom carriers Wednesday whether they use equipment or services from Huawei or ZTE (see 2002260010).

A Commerce Department agency plans the first meeting of its Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee this spring, amid delays issuing prospective members security clearances. A Bureau of Industry and Security spokesperson emailed that the agency remains “on target” to have the meeting before summer. Commerce officials originally scheduled the meeting for December, and then January, delaying it each time. ETTAC applicants are impatient, and trade lawyers have heard little information, they said in interviews last week. Adrienne Braumiller, a trade lawyer with Braumiller Law Group and member of BIS’ Regulations and Procedures TAC, has “no clear understanding” of why the process has taken so long, calling it “rather protracted and lengthy.” Doug Jacobson of Jacobson Burton heard about “numerous delays in the process” but hasn't heard why. ETTAC’s “primary focus” will be to identify emerging technologies with dual-use applications, says its charter. Those efforts will inform Commerce restricting sales of emerging technologies, which faced delays (see 1911070026). Commerce has released two sets of controls on emerging technologies without ETTAC input.

Needham lowered its March-quarter revenue estimates for Apple by 13% Tuesday based on coronavirus-related supply chain bottlenecks and lower demand from China. Greater China generated about 15% of Apple’s December quarter revenue and typically is 15-20% of the company’s sales. Apple’s Feb. 17 revenue-forecast downgrade (see 2002180004), plus new coronavirus "hot spots" in Italy, Iran and South Korea, "suggest that lowering our AAPL estimates is the more prudent choice,” said analyst Laura Martin. She now assumes normal supply and demand will resume by June 1, not March as she previously assumed. The longer coronavirus disruptions continue past the first of June, “the greater the threat to AAPL's Sept new product launches (including its 5G phone) and Christmas selling season revenue, which represented about 32% of annual revs in each of the past 3 years,” she wrote investors. Needham’s estimates assume coronavirus disruptions -- including supply chain and demand weakness -- don’t affect the September or December quarters: “This assumption may prove too optimistic,” said Martin. Due to low inventories and supply chain disruption, Needham lowered March and June estimates for unit sales of AirPods and iPhone 11s; it also expects a delay in the launch of the rumored, smaller iPhone, the SE 2, “from its originally scheduled March Q launch.” Apple hosts an event on March 31 but didn't comment now. Monday, HP said the virus is affecting it, too (see report, this issue.)

Coronavirus-induced travel and transportation restrictions that persist beyond March “are likely to pressure global supply chains and potentially create worldwide economic fallout,” said a Congressional Research Service report Wednesday. “Measures to contain the outbreak have significantly curtailed domestic and global transportation links, preventing the transport of many products and manufacturing inputs,” it said. Production has slowed across China, with “sharp slowdowns in sectors concentrated in Hubei,” including LCD panels, it said. Sourcing that diversified to other parts of Asia after the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods “often depends on intermediate inputs from China and thus is not insulated from China’s production slowdown,” it said.

A European Commission plan on artificial intelligence and data strategies envisions regulations to unlock business-to-business data; rules on data access and sharing; better infrastructure and platforms to run the data; and sector-specific actions in areas such as healthcare and cities, said European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton Wednesday at a Brussels briefing. "The battle for industrial data starts now," said Breton. Europe missed the first wave of the data economy -- the use by big U.S. and Chinese platforms of people's personal data -- but it's well-placed to lead the world in trustworthy AI and the data economy because it has the largest, strongest industrial base, he said. Platforms must adapt to Europe, not vice versa, Breton warned: Soft law and shared governance are preferable, but the EC won't hesitate to regulate if platforms don't play ball. A white paper on AI sets out an approach based on excellence and trust,and stresses that high-risk AI systems, such as those involving the healthcare and police systems, must be transparent and under human control. The EC also plans to launch an EU-wide debate on the use of remote biometric identification (facial recognition). Legislation in the form of a digital services act and a European democracy action plan are expected later this year. Comments on the AI white paper are due May 19, and an esurvey on the data strategy is here. Stakeholders generally praised the strategies, with some reservations. The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU urged the EU to "collaborate with like-minded partners and remain open to foreign investors that share European values." ITI urged a "collaborative approach to regulation" and avoiding prescriptive policies that could stifle innovation. The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, GSMA, Computer and Communications Industry Association and BSA also commented. Privacy advocates and one think tank were more cautious. Consumers can benefit if the EU makes data access for companies easier, but "this must not lead to a race to the bottom and consumers must remain in control of what happens with their personal data," said the European Consumer Organisation. Europe must not allow deployment of mass surveillance and identification technologies without fully understanding their impacts on people, said European Digital Rights. The EU "has chosen the right goal but the wrong tactics," said the Center for Data Innovation. Among other "fundamental flaws," the concept of creating "European data spaces" fosters data localization and other protectionist measures; and the call for a new legislative framework for AI would impose additional regulatory costs on businesses using it, it said.

Discussions within the Commerce Department to expand U.S. export control jurisdiction over foreign exports to Huawei would have a chilling effect on the U.S. semiconductor industry, said Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer. Current U.S. export restrictions on Huawei are already hurting the industry’s ability to sell to China, said Neuffer during an Information and Technology Innovation Foundation workshop Tuesday. China is about 35 percent of U.S. semiconductor sales, and more restrictions would further alienate Chinese customers who are weary of being added to Commerce’s Entity List, he said: “Some of them are afraid they’re next.” Neuffer said the semiconductor industry remains uncertain about the U.S. approach toward Huawei and China. He warned the Trump administration against further revisions to the U.S. export control system. “We think that’s not necessary,” Neuffer said, adding the U.S. shouldn’t place controls on nonsensitive products with no national security nexus, such as smartphone chips. “There have been some confused waters for us in terms of understanding exactly what the U.S. government intends on doing with Huawei and the China market generally,” Neuffer said.

Big U.S. accomplishments at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference include getting various millimeter wave bands identified for 5G, rules allowing coordination of geostationary and non-geostationary orbit satellites in the V band, and setting up a regulatory framework for NGSO mega constellations, said WRC-19 U.S. Ambassador Grace Koh in a Technology Policy Institute podcast released Thursday. Koh said a disappointment was failure to get the world to go along with higher power usage for outdoor Wi-Fi. She said Russia, China and Europe raised climate change issues in discussions about 5G use in the 24 GHz band and possible impacts to weather satellites, with those regions championing stringent protection values for those scientific services. Ultimately, the out-of-band emission power level adopted was "a political decision [but still] a good outcome," splitting the difference between what the various parties were advocating, she said.

As Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act rules take effect Thursday, FIRRMA’s definition for critical technologies remains unclear due to a lack of Commerce Department proposed rules on emerging and foundational technologies, trade lawyers said. FIRRMA expands jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to review some investments involving critical tech (see 2001150018). Commerce “has really issued just one set of regulations that could possibly cover emerging and foundational technologies,” said Vinson & Elkins' Dave Johnson, referencing an interim final rule to restrict exports of geospatial imagery software released by Commerce in January: “There's a lot of work they have to do in this area.” Johnson, speaking alongside Vinson & Elkins' Damara Chambers at a Tuesday panel hosted by the law firm, said the scope of businesses affected by FIRRMA’s regulations that deal in critical tech could be significant. Voluntary declarations may be very helpful, Chambers said. “For benign transactions that ... aren’t complicated for CFIUS to get their arms around, those should move very quickly under this voluntary filing process,” she said. “I’m very excited about the concept.” The Commerce Department didn't comment Wednesday.