CompTIA commended passage of a transportation funding bill that includes provisions extending the charter of the Export-Import Bank through Sept. 30, 2019, said a news release Friday. "U.S. high tech manufacturers face stiff competition from foreign competitors that enjoy much greater support from their nation’s export credit agencies," said Executive Vice President Elizabeth Hyman. "Many companies in the U.S., including a significiant [sic] number of small businesses, leverage Ex-Im to engage in business opportunities all over the world."

“U.S. businesses and workers in the information and communication technology goods sector will be positively impacted by the elimination of many barriers once TPP is enacted,” Stefan Selig, U.S. undersecretary of commerce for international trade, said in a statement as he released a report identifying the potential economic benefits to be gained from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Highlighted in the report are several country-specific cases where U.S. ICT companies could benefit from TPP's institution, such as the complete or partial elimination of import taxes on American ICT exports in Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Vietnam.

Documents released Tuesday show that U.K. spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is hacking computers without getting individual warrants, said London-based Privacy International in a news release. The group said the documents “contain previously unknown details and defenses” of the agency’s use of “thematic warrants.” They show GCHQ confirmed that the U.K. secretary of state doesn’t sign off on most overseas hacking operations, which also don’t require authorizations to name or describe a piece of equipment or name the equipment’s individual user. Privacy International also said the GCHQ’s intelligence services commissioner began formally reviewing individual targets overseas only in April, and the Intelligence and Security Committee report released in March called the failure of intelligence agencies MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service to keep accurate records of overseas hacking activities “unacceptable.” Privacy International General Counsel Caroline Wilson Palow said "the light touch authorization and oversight regime that GCHQ has been enjoying should never have been permitted. Perhaps it wouldn't have been if parliament had been notified in the first place that GCHQ was hacking.” In an email, GCHQ replied "it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings," but "all of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework, which ensures that our activities are authorized, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous independent oversight, including from the Secretary of State, the Interception and Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. All our operational processes rigorously support this position." Privacy International and seven Internet service and communications providers filed a legal complaint in July 2014 seeking an end to GCHQ’s hacking, which they called illegal and “destructive.”

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously ruled that the “freedom of expression” rights of three Turkish nationals were violated under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights when a Turkish court blocked access to Google's YouTube (see 1511300016). ECHR said in a Tuesday news release that the three individuals were “prevented from accessing YouTube for a lengthy period of time and … they could legitimately claim that the blocking order in question had affected their right to receive and impart information and ideas.” Seven ECHR judges said YouTube was an “important source” for the three complainants -- law professors Serkan Cengiz, Yaman Akdeniz and Kerem Altıparmak -- and the blocking order from the Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance prevented them from accessing “specific information” that they were unable to obtain through another channel. ECHR also said Turkish law didn't allow the domestic court “to impose a blanket blocking order on access to the Internet,” and such a blocking order could be imposed only on a specific publication suspected of a violation. ECHR said the Turkish court didn't directly target the three individuals. Google and the Turkish Embassy in Washington did not comment.

Judges on the European Court of Human Rights are expected to announce their judgment Tuesday on a complaint by three Turkish nationals who said the Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance violated their rights when it blocked access to YouTube because "some ten videos ... were insulting to the memory of Atatürk," said an ECHR release. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was prime minister and then president of Turkey from 1920 to 1938, is credited as the founder of a modern and secular Republic of Turkey. The Turkish court blocked access to the website from May 5, 2008, to Oct. 30, 2010, when the blocking order "was lifted by the public prosecutor's office following a request from the company owning copyright of the videos in question," said the ECHR. It said the three nationals -- Serkan Cengiz, Yaman Akdeniz and Kerem Altıparmak, who teach law at their respective universities in Turkey -- said the restriction had infringed on "their right to freedom to receive or impart information and ideas" and they also didn't get a right to a fair hearing. The release said the three invoked articles 6 and 10 the European Convention of Human Rights, which Turkey ratified in 1954. It said the three also want ECHR under Article 46 to "indicate to the Turkish government" actions it can take "to put an end to the situation." The Turkish court had rejected the three's request to lift the measure since it was "imposed in accordance with the law and that the applicants did not have standing to challenge such decisions," the release said. That ruling was upheld by the Ankara Criminal Court.

Google has removed almost 443,000 URLs, or about 42 percent of those evaluated since it began complying with Europe's right to be forgotten process May 29, 2014, the company said Friday in an updated transparency report. Google said it received more than 349,000 requests in that time, providing statistics for each of the 32 European countries. The company also listed nearly two dozen examples of requests from individuals who want search results about them deleted (see 1505150001). For example, it granted a request from a Belgian, whose criminal conviction was "quashed" on appeal, to remove an article about the incident. The company said it removed the page from search results for the person's name. However, Google denied a request from a priest in France who was convicted of possessing "child sexual abuse imagery" to remove articles about his sentencing and banishment from the church.

The Mobile 360-Europe conference scheduled for Dec. 3 in Brussels was postponed due to terrorism-related security concerns, GSMA said in a news release Tuesday. It didn't set a new date but said it would be in 2016. "Whilst there have been no direct threats to the event, the restrictions on travel would make it extremely difficult for attendees, speakers and members to travel to and within Brussels," GSMA said in a statement.

In a statement that made only vague reference to the Paris terrorist attacks, Nokia said its CEO Rajeev Suri met Monday with French President François Hollande “to reiterate Nokia's strong involvement in the development of the technology and digital ecosystem in France.” The meeting followed Nokia’s recent offer to merge with Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia said in the Monday statement. The combined entity “would be an innovation leader in next generation technology and services for an IP connected world,” Nokia said. "I was honored to be able to reiterate Nokia's support for France to President Hollande in our meeting today,” the statement quoted Suri as saying. “The values of France are far stronger than those who pose a threat to the country and I could see that in the resolve and determination of the President,” he said. “Nokia will not just be a larger part of the technology ecosystem in the country in the future, but a larger presence in France overall. Once the proposed transaction with Alcatel-Lucent closes, we will have thousands of employees in France, many of them engaged in cutting-edge research and development."

Cisco and Motorola Solutions see FCC equipment authorization rule changes as positive overall, but identified some concerns, including challenges with implementation and mutual recognition agreements (MRAs). "Generally, the changes to the FCC's [equipment authorization] processes have been helpful," said Chuck Powers, Motorola Solutions director-engineering and technology policy, during an FCBA CLE Thursday. "Leveraging the [telecom certification bodies] for all FCC certifications speeds up the process for manufacturers," which is beneficial for everybody, he said. But Powers said Motorola has had to take into account that the FCC's changes have essentially made MRAs a de facto requirement for testing of devices developed outside the U.S., at least for the foreseeable future. MRAs can make trade easier, but they aren't as ubiquitous globally as they should be, said Powers: "There are certain countries that [MRAs] are missing from that the passing of this [FCC] order has created a problem for us." David Case, Cisco technical regulatory leader, said the rule changes on authorization have been "very positive overall," and allow a more streamlined manufacturing process -- something he said the company looks for. Case said the rules do tend to put manufacturers "behind the eight ball" because of the costs it takes to update certain labs for authorization. Case also said MRAs have essentially leveled the playing field against competition overseas. Tim Brightbill, a Wiley Rein trade lawyer, said FCC rules eventually will have to pass muster with trade rules set forth in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is awaiting congressional review.

An auction of 700 MHz spectrum closed in France after 11 bidding rounds, bringing in a total of 2.796 billion euros ($2.97 billion), said the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes in a news release. Six 5 MHz blocks were offered for sale. Free Mobile and Orange got two blocks each, Bouygues Telecom and SFR one block each. The French regulator is still determining where each will be located on the frequency band.