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.

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.

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.

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.

One country’s rules on web search delisting shouldn't affect the listings of the entire world, said Google Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer in a blog post Friday. Google honors European individuals’ requests to delist URLs about themselves under EU “right-to-be-forgotten” rules, but hides the link only when the searcher is from the same country as the delister, Fleischer said. Google opposes an order by the French Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés to delist French users from everyone’s search results globally, he said. “We agree with the CNIL that privacy is a fundamental right -- but so too is the right to free expression,” Fleischer wrote. “Any balance that is struck between those two rights must be accompanied by territorial limits, consistent with the basic principles of international law. Aside from anything else, it’s plain common sense that one country should not have the right to impose its rules on the citizens of another, especially not when it comes to lawful content.”

Twenty-First Century Fox -- in talks with Sky about a takeover -- has a Jan. 6 deadline for announcing whether it will make an offer, the company said in a news release Friday. It said it reached agreement in principle to buy the 60.9 percent of the U.K. pay-TV company that it doesn't own, but certain offer terms still are under discussion. Sky said it formed an independent committee of board members to consider the terms of a 21st Century Fox proposal. Twenty-First Century Fox said the deadline can be extended. Several years ago, 21st Century Fox, then called News Corp., tried unsuccessfully to buy Sky, then known as BSkyB. The deal was tabled in 2011 amid concerns about phone hacking by News Corp. newspapers (see 107140093).