ICANN efforts to align domain name registration rules with EU privacy law continue but no board action is expected at the Oct. 19-22 virtual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, said gTLD Process and Integration Manager Steve Chan Thursday. The expedited policy development process team working on a temporary spec for generic top-level domain name registration data compliant with the EU general data protection regulation published its final report Aug. 10. It recommends a standardized system for granting access to and disclosure of nonpublic gTLD registration data. Chan couldn't predict when directors might consider the recommendations, which first need approval by the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council followed by another public consultation. It's unresolved whether the rules should apply to legal and natural persons and questions about data accuracy, he said at a policy update webinar. GDPR compliance remains a high priority for the Governmental Advisory Committee, said ICANN Senior Policy Director Rob Hoggarth. In August, GAC published a minority statement on completion of the second phase of the Whois policy development process. It said the proposed regime for access to nonpublic registration data is fragmented; doesn't include enforceable standards to review disclosure decisions; and doesn't adequately address consumer protection and trust concerns. A minority of the Stability and Security Advisory Committee also opposed (SAC112) the recommendations, saying the process didn't provide results that "are reasonably suitable for security and stability." An Oct. 21 session at the ICANN meeting will address the impact of Whois changes under GDPR on end users and public safety.

ON Semiconductor bowed a high-performance sensor for machine-vision cameras, augmented- and virtual reality headsets and autonomous mobile robots, it said Wednesday. The sensor captures single frames and 1080p video operating up to 120 frames per second. The 2.3 megapixel sensor minimizes frame-to-frame distortion in high-speed scenes and reduces motion artifacts, said the company.

Apple stopped selling Bose, Logitech and Sonos audio products. Sonos closed 7% lower Tuesday at $14.54, Logitech down 6.1% at $75.83. A Bose spokesperson confirmed its products are no longer being sold via Apple. She noted that it isn’t the only audio company yanked from Apple’s shelves. Removal of competing Bluetooth and smart speakers from Apple led to speculation Apple is going to add to its audio line at its Oct. 13 virtual event, announced Tuesday, where it’s expected to launch the next generation of iPhones. Apple didn’t respond to questions. Sonos didn’t comment. Apple’s move underscores a risk Sonos highlighted in an SEC filing last fall that if partner competitors, such as Amazon and Apple, continue to compete with Sonos more directly, they would be able to promote their products more prominently than Sonos, refusing to promote its speakers. A Logitech spokesperson didn’t comment now, saying the company is in a quiet period ahead of its Oct. 20 quarterly report. The company has been targeting videoconferencing and gaming with its audio products amid a slowdown in the Bluetooth speaker category.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security's handling of emerging and foundational technologies drew rhetorical fire on a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar. Experts said Friday the lengthy process is impeding Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. work. “It’s a hard list," said Wiley's Nova Daly of BIS work to come up with information on such technologies that need curbs when involving certain other countries. "Emerging technologies shift and change.” Putting controls on emerging and foundational technologies is "a requirement by law," the expert added. "It will help CFIUS do its job in terms of being able to make sure we don't lose those critical technologies.” The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) let CFIUS review transactions involving such tech. Because of some BIS delays in issuing those controls, CFIUS may not have a clear definition for what technologies to target, experts say. Making CFIUS partly dependent on BIS “was a really bad idea, and I think it needs to be re-looked,” said David Hanke, who helped draft FIRRMA and now is at Arent Fox. “There needs to be more agility, there needs to be more speed, the ability for [Treasury] to see something coming, and whether or not it's covered by BIS and the commerce control list, to be able to designate that in a quick manner.” Thomas Feddo, Treasury's CFIUS lead, cautioned critics from placing too much blame on BIS. “I'm not an export controls expert. I wish Commerce was here to defend themselves,” he said. “I think they might make some argument that they're making a great deal of progress.” Feddo said CFIUS doesn't necessarily need BIS to designate critical technologies for the committee to target transactions. BIS didn't comment Monday. A BIS spokesperson Friday pointed to its notice that day announcing six additional emerging technology controls. The agency hasn't issued foundational tech final controls (see 2008260013).

Comcast’s next-generation xFi Pod, available Thursday, delivers twice the Wi-Fi speed of its predecessor, said the company. The Pod, $119 for one or $199 for two at Xfinity stores and xfinity.com/xfipods, has a tri-band radio and works with the xFi gateway to extend Wi-Fi coverage via a mesh network. Users can add the device to a network using the Xfinity mobile app; they can also view connection status and monitor and pause Wi-Fi devices, it said. It has two Ethernet ports. Since March, Comcast has seen demand for Pods double as households increase their Wi-Fi use, said Dana Strong, president-Xfinity Consumer Services.

Photoshop inventor Adobe is promoting its “content authenticity initiative” as an open, voluntary standard to thwart content manipulation for nefarious or criminal purposes, said Dana Rao, Adobe general counsel. “You can make videos and images that could be very lifelike” and difficult to differentiate between truth and fake, he told an Axios webinar Wednesday. “Everyone should be concerned," he said. “The basis of a democracy is a shared understanding of facts. If we can’t agree on what the facts are, we can’t do anything about policies like climate change.” It’s easy to edit videos and images “and create a fiction from a fact,” said Rao. “The problem with images and video is that people believe them. They believe them more than the written word.” People “can’t always trust what they see,” he said. “Years ago, you might have gotten an email from a bank. It asked you for your Social Security number, and you may have just typed it in and sent it away. You know better now. You know that some of these emails are fake, even if they have beautiful letterheads. People need to think that way about online content.”

DOD, DOJ and five other departments must better implement OMB-mandated activities aimed at “preventing, identifying, and reducing duplicative” IT contracts, GAO reported Wednesday. Six of the seven “fully implemented” requirements to identify a senior accountable official and train workforces on IT contracting, GAO said. “Almost half the agencies had fully implemented the activity associated with sharing contract information.” Until “agencies fully implement the activities in OMB’s category management initiative, and make greater use of spend analyses to inform their efforts to identify and reduce duplicative contracts, they will be at increased risk of wasteful spending,” GAO said. “Agencies will miss opportunities to identify and realize savings of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.” The seven agencies, which also include Agriculture and State, concurred with recommendations.

DOD released an interim rule Tuesday for a framework for verifying contractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements. Comments are due Nov. 30, when the interim rule becomes effective. It would amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement DOD assessment methodology and cybersecurity maturity model certification.

Twenty-six percent of American adults get news from YouTube, the Pew Research Center reported Monday. The survey of 12,638 adults, done Jan. 6-20, found 66% of YouTube news consumers said the platform’s videos help them “better understand current events,” and 73% “expect them to be largely accurate.” More than half (51%) of YouTube news consumers said “they are primarily looking for opinions and commentary,” Pew said.

China opposes the Trump administration's "unjustified suppression and bullying" of non-U.S. companies under the "weakest pretext of national security," said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Monday. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction Sunday against implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to ban Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores (see 2009180051). U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued the order (in Pacer). TikTok showed the prohibitions “likely exceed the lawful bounds proscribed” by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Nichols wrote in the accompanying memorandum opinion (in Pacer), which was unsealed Monday. He cited IEEPA’s limitations in regulating “informational” materials. "We hope the U.S. can earnestly respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, observe international trade rules, and foster an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign companies operating and investing in the U.S.,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said. The Commerce Department said the government will comply with the injunction but “intends to vigorously defend the E.O. and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.” The EO “is fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests,” Commerce said. TikTok said it “will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees" and continue its dialogue with the federal government.