The Computer and Communications Industry Association said it strongly supports final net neutrality guidelines released last week by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications. BEREC guidelines clarify how national regulatory authorities should enforce net neutrality rules, but they don't cover services that aren't publicly available, IP interconnection services or virtual private networks (see 1608300002). In a news release Tuesday, CCIA said it supports an open platform that empowers consumers and fosters competition and growth, including building a digital single market. “BEREC is right to clarify that the regulations apply to providers of Internet access services and not to content and application providers or to websites," said CCIA Europe Vice President James Waterworth. He said "successful implementation" of the guidelines requires authorities to approach complaints on a case-by-case basis. "Whether conduct or particular programs constitute an infringement of the rules will depend on the specifics of the case and no assumptions should be made," he added.

Qualcomm, Nokia and Finnish broadcaster Yle planned to do the world's first demo of LTE supplemental downlink (SDL) technology in a TV band, they said Friday. The technology is expected to offer “new opportunities for broadcasters, which is also technically viable and does not harm Digital Terrestrial Television,” the companies said in a news release. The demo was slated for the Nokia Executive Experience Center in Espoo, Finland, Friday afternoon Finland time. “There has been a push in recent years by European countries to utilize the 700MHz band for mobile communications, which is supported by the European Commission in an overall EU strategy for the broadcast band,” the companies said. Roberto Viola, a European Commission official, said in the release that "this sends a clear signal to industry players and policy makers that there are many opportunities for broadcasters and their partners for using spectrum to foster a future-proof ecosystem in the UHF band.”

With IFA to open to the public beginning Friday, we observed crews placing signs Thursday at key entrances to the Messe Berlin fairgrounds warning visitors to the international consumer electronics show in Berlin to be aware of added security measures. “We ask for your understanding for our additional security checks,” read the signs we saw Thursday in German and English outside IFA’s North entrance. The signs urge visitors to use the smartphone app KATWARN for “fast and direct information” about the security restrictions and about any potential trouble. KATWARN bills itself as a free service developed by Fraunhofer that tells the user not only that “there is a dangerous situation, but also HOW you should behave,” said the service’s website. Airport-style metal detectors were visible at three entrances to the fairgrounds we visited since arriving Tuesday in Berlin when there never have been any at previous IFA shows. But we saw none in use for the Wednesday and Thursday IFA news-media days, nor were there any obvious added security measures put in place for reporters covering IFA, such as the type of restricted bag policies CES imposed in January after the November terrorist attacks in Paris (see 1512180053).

Governments around the world are disguising “techno-nationalist policies” as national security improvements, said a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released Thursday. The policies artificially give competitive advantage to domestic companies, hurting the global economy, said the Chamber. It urged countries to embrace a globalized information and communications technology (ICT) sector and allow foreign competition. “A highly connected and global ICT sector is the backbone of innovation and has arguably been one the most powerful drivers of global economic welfare over decades,” said Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant in a statement. “Today’s digital economy demands a free flow of data and ideas to make modern commerce and trade possible. From banking to e-commerce to managing a global supply chain, nearly everything requires complex transactions cutting across hardware and software platforms, industries, and jurisdictions.” The report was written in consultation with Covington & Burling and the Rhodium Group, the Chamber said.

Sonos announced voice control integration with Amazon’s Alexa voice engine at a Tuesday news conference in New York, as expected, while Sonos will work with a variety of other companies on the connected home. Partners include Deutsche Telekom’s Qivicon. DT is private-labeling Sonos under the company’s Qivicon smart home platform and will make it available to other carriers including Dutch telecom KPN, said Brad Duea, Sonos managing director/general manager-Americas-Pacific, in an interview. Sonos also said it's integrating with Spotify Connect, enabling subscribers to control Sonos from within the Spotify app. Pandora will follow in 2017, said Sonos; its roster has 80 music streaming music services, said Chief Marketing Officer Joy Howard.

The International Trade Commission is seeking comment by Sept. 23 on a possible limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale by Fitbit and Flextronics of activity tracking devices that infringe patents held by BodyMedia and Jawbone, the ITC said in Tuesday's Federal Register. An ITC administrative law judge recently recommended the orders, which would last “no more than one month,” if the commission finds violations of Tariff Act Section 337. The ITC began the investigation in August 2015, based on allegations Fitbit is importing devices manufactured overseas by Flextronics that copy BodyMedia’s patented design for its UP line of fitness and activity trackers. Fitbit and Flextronics had no comment.

Customs and Border Protection will enforce copyright registrations beginning when an application is filed with the Copyright Office, said CBP's intellectual property rights website. "Temporary recordation of unregistered Copyrights is now available while your application for registration is pending" at the CO, said CBP. "Upon request (email to iprrquestions@cbp.dhs.gov), you will receive instructions for submitting an application for recordation of your copyright with CBP for border enforcement purposes." Proof of application to register is required, it said. This is the result of a customs reauthorization law that required CBP develop a process to enforce copyrights while an application is pending (see 1602240069); the agency is authorized to detain or seize imports of protected works.

A week after Uber said it would begin testing autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh this month (see 1608180059), autonomous driving software company nuTonomy launched what it called the first public trial of a “robo-taxi service.” The trial is in Singapore’s one-north business district, where nuTonomy has been doing daily autonomous vehicle testing since April, it said in a Thursday announcement. A nuTonomy engineer will ride in the vehicle to observe system performance and assume control if needed, said the company, with investors including Samsung and the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association raised concerns Tuesday about a joint France-Germany push for what the industry group believes is a plan to weaken encryption. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière called Tuesday for EU legislation aimed at clarifying the rights and obligations of telcos and ISPs doing business in EU countries, including “obligations on operators deemed uncooperative in the removal of illegal content or decryption of messages.” Meanwhile, the European Commission is working on a new “ePrivacy proposal” that likely will include a loophole that allows governments to request access to encrypted data, CCIA said. “We are worried that EU proposals can allow governments to challenge end-to-end encryption and thus threaten the security and confidentiality of Europeans' communications,” said CCIA Europe Director Christian Borggreen in a statement. “It is certainly understandable that some would respond to recent tragedies with backdoors and more government access. But weakened security ultimately leaves online systems more vulnerable to all types of attacks from terrorists to hackers. This should be a time to increase security -- not weaken it.”

Infidelity website Ashley Madison parent ruby violated privacy laws in Australia and Canada by falsely presenting itself as a secure service while having inadequate cybersecurity, a panel reported Tuesday. Ashley Madison and other services owned by ruby -- then known as Avid Life Media -- were hacked last year, resulting in the theft of sensitive and personal records of about 40 million people (see 1507200017). The offices of Australian Information Commissioner and of Canada Privacy Commissioner identified violations of privacy laws, particularly because the company's lack of a comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity framework despite ruby's awareness that discretion and security were key to Ashley Madison's business model. The website marketed itself as a “100% discreet service” and used a fabricated security trustmark online to back up its security claims, the privacy offices said. They said cybersecurity protections “were insufficient or absent and, although [ruby] did have some personal information security protections in place, the company fell short when it came to implementing those security measures.” There were “inadequate” authentication processes for ruby employees who accessed the company's systems remotely, and the company had “poor” key and password management practices, the privacy offices said. Ruby encrypted all web-based communications but stored the encryption keys on its systems in “plain, clearly identifiable text” that put the keys at risk of unauthorized disclosure, the privacy offices said. Stored passwords displayed as “clearly identifiable text” in emails, while text files containing the passwords were stored on ruby's systems, the privacy offices said. They said ruby retained personal information on users who left, and failed to ensure email addresses on file were accurate. “Privacy breaches are a core risk for any organization with a business model based on the collection and use of personal information,” said Canada Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien in a news release. “Where data is highly sensitive and attractive to criminals, the risk is even greater. Handling huge amounts of this kind of personal information without a comprehensive information security plan is unacceptable.” The firm cooperated with and entered into a court-enforceable compliance agreement on recommendations for improvements. “We hope that by openly speaking about the breach and our commitments to the [privacy offices], we can help other organizations and business leaders who are facing increased cyber security challenges,” said CEO Rob Segal in a statement. “The company has cooperated with the Commissioners throughout their investigation and will continue to share information with them as we honour the terms of the compliance agreement and enforceable undertaking.”