The FTC approved final orders to settle charges for U.S.-EU safe harbor enforcement actions it has taken against 14 companies this year, said a Wednesday news release (http://1.usa.gov/1mfjPL7). Companies ranged from retailers like American Apparel, to data brokers like Apperian, to medical facilities like DDC Laboratories and even several NFL teams (CD Jan 22 p9). Four FTC commissioners unanimously approved the final orders, with recently sworn-in Terrell McSweeny not voting. Very few comments were filed during the public comment period. One commenter pushed for the FTC to take action against TRUSTe, which certifies companies’ compliance with various FTC regulations. The FTC responded it “cannot comment on whether it is investigating any particular companies or allegations. However, the Commission takes seriously the role of self-regulatory privacy programs that certify company compliance with the Safe Harbor framework, such as TRUSTe.” The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) was the only major organization to file a comment (http://1.usa.gov/1lUFAWm). EPIC chastised the FTC for rarely making changes to final orders based on public comments: “It is becoming unclear what purpose is served by the Commission’s request for public comments on a proposed settlement if the agency is unwilling to make any modifications.” It did suggest the FTC’s safe harbor settlements should require companies to comply with the White House’s consumer privacy bill of rights (CPBR) (http://1.usa.gov/1hwy3KA) and that each company’s initial safe harbor compliance report -- required in the consent order -- be made public. EPIC’s suggestions were not incorporated into the final orders. In its response (http://1.usa.gov/1pBTgnj), the FTC said it “supports the goals laid out in the CPBR,” but that “the order is designed to address specific conduct as alleged in the complaint—which did not include substantive violations of the Safe Harbor framework—not to impose obligations that may not be tied to such conduct.” The commission also noted the compliance reports could be made public: “The public may seek access to compliance reports required by the orders by making a request under the Freedom of Information Act,” it said. But the FTC would be required to keep confidential any trade secrets or commercial and financial information about the company, it said.

The International Trade Commission is seeking comment by July 7 on public interest factors it should consider as it decides whether to issue limited exclusion orders banning imports of some Nokia and ZTE devices, said an ITC notice appearing in Friday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1qihPH0). The ITC began its investigation on wireless devices with 3G or 4G capabilities in January 2013 in response to a request from InterDigital, which alleged patent infringement by way of imports of devices including Nokia’s Lumia 822 and 920 and ZTE’s ZTE Avail, Jetpack and 4G Hotspot. An administrative law judge June 13 recommended issuing limited exclusion orders against Nokia and ZTE, and a cease and desist order against Nokia, should the commission find a violation of Tariff Act Section 337. The ALJ also recommended implementation of any limited exclusion orders be delayed by six months. Nokia and ZTE representatives had no comment Thursday.

Europe’s mobile saturation and weakened consumer spending resulted in a “high single digit” percentage drop in mobile service revenue for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in 2013, Infonetics Research said Friday. Global mobile service revenue rose by 1 percent for 2013 due to offsetting rises in revenue in other regions, said the industry research firm. The Asia-Pacific region saw revenue rise 5 percent, while the Caribbean and Latin America’s rose 4 percent and North America’s rose 3 percent, Infonetics said. Europe’s declining revenue occurred regionwide, including more competitive markets in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, said Stéphane Téral, Infonetics’ principal analyst-mobile infrastructure and carrier economics. European carriers Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Vodafone are pushing for the European Commission to allow more consolidation, which may “restore operators’ revenue growth and margins, similar to what we saw in Austria,” Téral said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1lqU2ne).

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the South Korean Intellectual Property Office are expanding cooperation in patent classification activities, they said in a news release Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/1kGlqxy). South Korean regulators will increase the number of technical areas in which they classify patent documents using the joint U.S.-EU Cooperative Patent Classification system, they said. PTO said the change will make it easier to find existing South Korean patents and apply for new patents in South Korea.

PCCW, owner of Hong Kong Telecommunications, is giving Londoners its first taste of what it calls “fiber-fast broadband without the wires.” This week, PCCW subsidiary UK Broadband launches the “Relish” plug-and-play service, which uses 4G mobile broadband to give homes and offices in the city’s central zone up to 65 Mbps and on average 30 Mbps of broadband with no landline needed. A home Ethernet/Wi-Fi router costs 50 pounds (about $84 at 1 pound = $1.67) to buy and 20 pounds ($33) a month for service with unlimited data. A pocket hub costs 35 pounds ($59) to buy and serves up to 10 devices for 10 pounds ($17) a month. Users who sign up for a year for both services get free hardware and reduced prices. The home router works only in London (with other urban areas promised), but the pocket hub roams for free on the “Three” 3G network outside London. Customers order from Relish by phone or online and get a ready-to-use device delivered, in a pizza-style box, the next day. A postcode database advises where in London the devices should and should not work. If reception is impossible, such as in a basement, there is a money-back guarantee. PCCW Group and UK Broadband are licensed to use six 20 MHz channels in 4G LTE Bands 42/43 (at 3.5 GHz). Relish is only using one channel for the London service. The cost of the hardware, made by Huawei, is kept down by dedication to a limited range of channels. Relish cites data by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, showing London homes and small businesses are paying 193 million pounds a year on landlines they neither want nor use, just to get broadband, and that 47 percent of Londoners would prefer broadband without a landline.

Netflix plans to expand to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland toward the end of the year, said a company news release (http://nflx.it/R78GDZ) Tuesday. The company has more than 48 million members in more than 40 countries, it said. Netflix expanded its services to Canada in September 2010, Latin America in September 2011, and the U.K. and Ireland in January 2012. The company said it also opened its services to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 2012 and the Netherlands in 2013.

"The global supply of IPv4 addresses is reaching a critical level,” and has prompted ICANN to start “allocating the remaining blocks” of IPv4 addresses to the “five Regional Internet Registries,” said an ICANN news release (http://bit.ly/1jV7Y3F) Tuesday. The allocation was “triggered” when the Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Centre’s supply of IPv4 addresses “dropped to below 8 million,” it said. “As more and more devices come online, the demand for IP addresses rises, and IPv4 is incapable of supplying enough addresses to facilitate this expansion,” it said. “This redistribution of the small pool of IPv4 addresses held by us ensures that every region receives an equal number of addresses while we continue to work with the community to raise support for IPv6,” said ICANN’s Elise Gerich, vice president-technical operations and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. “IPv6 deployment is a requirement for any network that needs to survive,” said Leo Vegoda, ICANN operational excellence manager. The policies guiding IPv4 allocation are on ICANN’s website (http://bit.ly/1tkCuvj).

"It is a long-standing policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters,” said the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Wednesday in response to the filing Tuesday by Privacy International of a complaint alleging the security service hacks computers and mobile devices (CD May 14 p18). All of GCHQ’s work “is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight,” a GCHQ spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “All our operational processes rigorously support this position."

Using malicious software to hack into computers or mobile devices is a clear violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, said Privacy International on Tuesday. It filed in the U.K. Investigatory Powers Tribunal what it said was the first U.K. challenge to the use of hacking tools by intelligence services (http://bit.ly/1iP47cx). PI argued that the infection of devices with malicious software, enabling covert intrusion into the lives of ordinary people, is so invasive that it’s incompatible with democratic principles and human rights standards. Given that the Government Communications Headquarters and its partner, the U.S. NSA, have no clear lawful authority to hack, their conduct is illegal and must be stopped immediately, PI said. GCHQ had no immediate comment.

The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill (HR-3830, S-1900) should “prioritize the role of the Internet economy,” said a letter (http://bit.ly/1fKUbSa) led by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-California, and Jared Polis, D-Colorado, to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Michigan, ranking member Sander Levin, D-Michigan, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The TPA “rightfully recognizes the key role that the Internet plays in international trade today,” but “does not extend that vision of the importance of the Internet economy throughout its provisions,” said the letter. The bill “states the overall trade negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to any agreement with a foreign country to reduce or eliminate existing tariffs or nontariff barriers of that country or the United States that are unduly burdening and restricting U.S. trade” (http://1.usa.gov/1qbEQP3).