Liberty Global closed its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Communications, a deal Liberty said was valued at about $7.4 billion on an enterprise value basis. CWC's business will be attributed to Liberty's Latin American and Caribbean (LiLAC) Group, creating "the leading consumer and business-to-business communications provider in the region," said a Liberty Global news release Monday. The combination serves 20 million video, voice, broadband and mobile subscribers, and is expected to generate more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue, it said. Almost all the countries with CWC-LiLAC Group operations are in the Caribbean basin, except Chile, it said. Mike Fries, Liberty Global CEO, said: "We are joining two high-growth businesses in a region that is both underpenetrated and underserved in broadband, mobile data and pay TV services."

Companies increasingly will limit supply chain relationships to suppliers that participate in authorized economic operator supply chain security programs, said industry members in Cancun at a World Customs Organization conference. James Lockett, Huawei head-trade facilitation, said Tuesday he expects AEO status to someday be a prerequisite for all the company's suppliers. While it's still too early to make that requirement, it seems to be where the company is headed, he said. AEO programs are voluntary supply chain security programs administered by customs regimes which can help speed up customs processing, and such arrangements are sometimes recognized by national governments.

The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) said it's “pleased” the G7 information and communications technology ministers agreed over the weekend in G7's "Charter for a Digitally Connected World" to a new global approach to ICT policy that focuses on promoting and protecting free cross-border data flows online. The G7 ministers also agreed to data localization laws and will promote effective cybersecurity and privacy policies. ITI, DigitalEurope and the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association jointly recommended in February that G7 promote the free flow of data and oppose data localization. “By advancing these principles, G7 governments are well-positioned to shape ICT policy for our global economy and address pressing challenges that governments and industries face,” including “harmful data localization requirements that threaten to split the Internet, undermine innovation, and therefore inhibit the expansion and benefits of digital technologies,” said ITI Global Policy Director-Localization, Trade and Multilateral Affairs Ed Brzytwa in a Tuesday blog post. The G7's decision to promote free data flows “has effectively set the stage” for those issues to factor into larger G20 meetings set to occur in Ise-Shima, Japan, in May, and in Hangzhou, China, in September, Brzytwa said.

No Latin American country hit the halfway mark on the ITU’s recommendation that they allocate 1,300 MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband in 2015, 5G Americas said in a report released Tuesday. Four countries were above 30 percent of the target, the group said: Argentina at 31 percent; Brazil, 41.7 percent; Chile, 35.8 percent; and Nicaragua, 32.3 percent. El Salvador (16 percent), Guatemala (16.2 percent) and Panama (16.9 percent) were below 20 percent, 5G Americas said. “The lack of sufficient spectrum for the development of mobile services has a negative impact on both consumers, who are deprived of innovative services with optimum performance, and the telecommunications industry, whose growth potential is limited,” said José Otero, director-Latin America and the Caribbean for 5G Americas, in a news release. “Spectrum frequencies are necessary for technological development to materialize in the way of services that benefit society by meeting the growing need for broadband, a key element in the economic progress of communities. This document reveals that more internationally harmonized spectrum is needed throughout the region.” At the end of 2015, the 850 MHz band was the only band allocated for broadband throughout the region, 5G Americas said. Meanwhile, 14 markets had allocated the AWS 1.7/2.1 GHz bands for mobile broadband, and five, the 2.5 GHz band, the group said.

Intellectual property rights seizures in FY 2015 rose 25 percent to 28,865 from the previous fiscal year, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics show. Total manufacturer's suggested retail price of the seized goods also rose about 8.3 percent to $1.3 billion, a CBP news release said. Increasingly, seized goods are coming through the express mode of transport, coinciding with a drop in seized cargo. China remains the primary source country for counterfeit and pirated goods, with 52 percent of all IPR seizures by MSRP, down from FY 2014, when it was 63 percent of the total MSRP value of seized goods. China's MSRP value fell to $697 million from $773 million last year. The number of seized goods originating in Hong Kong increased about 52 percent to $472 million, now at 35 percent of the seized goods. Consumer electronics/parts were 10 percent or $132 million of the MSRP of seizures in FY 2015.

The European Parliament approved new and stronger data protection rules designed to give EU residents greater control over personal information and setting minimum standards for how data can be used for police and judicial purposes. Member states would still have two years to implement the general data protection regulation (GDPR), which has been in development since 2012 and is the first major update to data protection in more than 20 years (see 1512160001). The new regulation "makes a high, uniform level of data protection throughout the EU a reality," said European Parliament member Jan Philipp Albrecht, of the Greens/European Free Alliance and Germany, in a Thursday news release. "This is a great success for the European Parliament and a fierce European 'yes' to strong consumer rights and competition in the digital age." GDPR gives EU citizens more control over their information such as the "right to be forgotten" and capability of more easily transferring personal data between service providers. They will also get clearer information about how their data is used. Adoption was hailed by consumer and privacy groups. BEUC-the European Consumer Organisation, an alliance of 41 independent national consumer groups from 31 European countries, said in a statement the law opens "a new chapter for data protection" but isn't the end of the story. "There is work ahead to ensure a successful application of the new rules and guarantee that the EU effectively continues to be a role model for data protection in the world,” said David Martin, BEUC senior legal officer. But, Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, called GDPR a "mistake," in a statement. He said its "provisions will be onerous in practice -- like trying to sail with an anchor overboard." He said "businesses, entrepreneurs, civil society groups, and government all will have an unduly hard time using data to start new ventures, expand well-established ones, or enrich European citizens’ lives by discovering solutions to challenges in health care, education, or the environment." Policymakers have time to craft a more appropriate framework "for a modern data economy" before GDPR is implemented, Atkinson said.

Privacy Shield is a "strong foundation" to build additional domestic legislation and modernize mutual legal assistance treaties, wrote Microsoft EU Government Affairs Vice President John Frank in a Monday blog post. The EU and U.S. are "better off" with the proposed trans-Atlantic data transfer agreement to replace the old safe harbor framework (see 1602020040), he wrote, acknowledging its effectiveness rests on companies' "responsible steps" to comply. Microsoft, he said, will sign up for the voluntary framework and "put in place commitments to advance privacy as this instrument is implemented." When an eligible company publicly commits to comply with Privacy Shield requirements, its commitment is enforceable under U.S. law. However, an alliance of 41 independent national consumer groups from 31 European countries known as BEUC said the proposed framework doesn't adequately protect consumers' privacy and data and recommended it be jettisoned, in a letter to Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, who chairs the European Commission's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. That committee, comprised of the national data protection authorities from the 28 member states, is expected to offer a nonbinding opinion Wednesday. The EC is expected to adopt Privacy Shield this summer, but many have predicted the agreement would be immediately challenged in court like safe harbor, which the European Court of Justice invalidated in October (see 1510060001). Since the EU and U.S. privacy regimes "are oceans apart" in approach and substance, BEUC said it's "hard to grasp" that the U.S. regime can be considered "essentially equivalent" to the European level, which will be made stronger with the proposed general data protection regulation (see 1512160001). The European Parliament is expected to approve GDPR this week, though the new regulation won't be implemented for another two years.

Wireless carriers in Argentina are backing a new GSMA initiative on mobile consumer protection, GSMA said Wednesday. Claro, Telecom Personal and Telefónica Movistar are working to take on mobile device theft and promote protection against child sexual exploitation, a first in Argentina, GSMA said in a news release. GSMA said Argentina’s Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Agency and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights are also engaged. “Our future challenge is to harness the scale and ubiquity of mobile in Argentina to continue delivering major economic and social benefits to the country, and provide a platform for business innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Sebastián Cabello, head of GSMA Latin America. “Argentina’s small and medium enterprises now have an opportunity to build on this ecosystem in areas such as software, apps and local content, adding value and creating jobs.”

Broader collaboration within trade negotiations is necessary for governments to fully embrace the transformative effect the Internet is having on global trade, said David Weller, head of global trade policy at Google, in a blog post Friday. Although most people think of physical goods when discussing trade, "data flows enabled by the Internet -- practically non-existent just 15 years ago -- now contribute to global economic growth more than the flow of goods" and "governments are rightly taking note of this transformation," Weller said. "In agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiators have started to address Internet issues. They are starting to recognize that restrictive Internet policies can damage trade just as much as high tariffs and quotas." Despite the recognition of the Internet's growing importance, "the traditionally closed and complex nature of trade negotiations makes engagement by this broader range of stakeholders difficult," said Weller. In order "for trade and Internet policy to work together, trade negotiators need to have input from the full range of Internet stakeholders. At the same time, Internet stakeholders need to start engaging in the trade policy process. Small businesses, startups, civil society groups, the Internet technical community, and everyday users all have a stake."

Sky is launching a “major new commitment” to original virtual reality content through the creation of Sky VR Studio, a “dedicated in-house VR production unit,” the European entertainment company said in a Thursday announcement. The first pieces of “fully immersive VR content” to be produced by the unit will be released Friday in the form of two films shot during Formula One racing in Barcelona, it said. The footage will “transport viewers to the pit lane, into the team garages, and out onto the track,” it said. The films will be released on Facebook’s 360 Video platform, and also on the Oculus platform, viewable on Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift headsets, it said. Sky will look to distribute content through a dedicated Sky VR app later in the year, it said. “Over the coming year, Sky VR Studio will drive the creation of cinematic, fully immersive VR content, producing more than 20 individual films, across a unique range of Sky content -- from major cultural events in news to some of the biggest sporting events on the planet.”