The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee scheduled a hearing on preventing poor quality patents for 2 p.m. Wednesday in 226 Dirksen. Witnesses are Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner of Patents Drew Hirshfeld, University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Polk Wagner, University of Texas-Austin School of Law professor Melissa Feeney Wasserman, Crowell & Moring partner Teresa Stanek Rea and Santa Clara University School of Law professor Colleen Chien.

Companies should put an individual or group in charge of creating and maintaining a privacy program, the FTC told the National Institute of Standards and Technology Thursday, at the deadline for comments on NIST’s effort to develop a “voluntary privacy framework” for companies (see 1909090061). In a 5-0 vote, the FTC recommended “a comprehensive risk assessment as a necessary first step before making decisions about which privacy controls should be implemented.” The agency also recommended NIST “consider including a more robust discussion” about ensuring consumers understand company data privacy practices, “including reviewing whether a company’s actual data practices align with consumer expectations and public-facing statements.” Microsoft urged NIST to include informative references to help “address interoperability requirements with other privacy regimes around the world.” The company’s previous response recommended the framework be interoperable with other global approaches, forward-looking and risk-based and outcome-focused. The Software & Information Industry Association suggested the framework be adaptable “to help companies execute and record compliance programs for diverse data privacy laws and regulations -- a vital feature due to the evolving privacy regulatory landscape in the United States and globally.”

The FTC and DOJ should review the impact on workers from "mergers" and similar business conduct, Open Markets Institute commented Wednesday. OMI commented with the Service Employees International Union for DOJ’s workshop on competition in labor markets. They recommended federal agencies ban noncompete clauses in employee contracts and advance “legal positions via amicus briefs that would ensure employers and workers have a more equal footing.”

Hispanic Americans using the internet rose from 61 percent in 2013 to 72 percent in 2017, NTIA data shows. "Although this is still less than the 80 percent of non-Hispanic Whites online in 2017, the gap has begun to narrow. Internet usage rates for Hispanics are now similar to African Americans, who have also experienced gains in Internet use in recent years." The digital divide also appears to be narrowing for immigrants, the agency will report. Among non-U.S. citizens, net usage rose 11 points 2013-17 to 73 percent.

The European Commission sees "good progress" with Privacy Shield after three years, said European Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova Wednesday. The EC's third review of the trans-Atlantic personal data transfer system found the U.S. followed last year's recommendations, and that about 5,000 companies participate, she said. After EC urging, the U.S. appointed a permanent ombudsman to ensure Europeans' complaints about national security are properly resolved; the Department of Commerce is more attentive to exercising oversight; and the FTC stepped up investigations. PS became a "good tool of digital diplomacy" that spurs dialogue, with several U.S. states and the federal government now talking about data protection legislation, Jourova said. The report noted several issues with practical implementation, and recommended Commerce shorten various periods granted companies to complete recertification, and develop tools for detecting false claims of participation from companies that never applied for certification, and that the FTC prioritize finding ways to share meaningful information about ongoing investigations with the EC and EU data protection authorities. "Privacy Shield remains a successful instrument for the protection of European citizens' data and an essential tool for the safe transfer of commercial data between the two largest trading partners," said Computer & Communications Industry Association European Senior Manager Alexandre Roure. The pact is working but in jeopardy, said Center for Data Innovation Senior Policy Analyst Eline Chivot. The European Court of Justice hasn't ruled whether European citizens' personal data can be transferred to the U.S., a decision expected early next year. This positive review shows the "landmark initiative continues to be a reliable and stable mechanism" for smooth, secure data flows, said Information Technology Industry Council Vice President-Europe Guido Lobrano.

Twenty-three percent of U.S. broadband homes likely will buy a smart thermostat this year, blogged Parks Associates Tuesday. Lowering the cost is key to driving adoption beyond the 11-13 percent of households that own one, said President Elizabeth Parks.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology sought comment by Nov. 15 on a revised draft of Federal Information Security Modernization Act-mandated guidance for technologies that improve security and robustness of interdomain traffic exchange. NIST recommends resource public key infrastructure, border gateway protocol origin validation, and prefix filtering. The agency recommends preventing IP address spoofing using source address validation with access control lists, and unicast reverse path forwarding to prevent and mitigate distributed denial-of-service attacks. NIST recommends remotely triggered black hole filtering, flow specification, and response rate limiting.

Microsoft representatives had meetings with aides to FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks to discuss its proposal to use TV white spaces to deploy rural broadband (see 1707110015). Microsoft told aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks its Airband Initiative would “connect the unconnected,” filing in docket 16-56 and posted Friday.

Some 64.6 million in the U.S. will use an Amazon Fire TV device this year, nearly a third of connected TV users, while Amazon Prime Video adds nearly 9 percent to 96.5 million viewers, projected eMarketer Thursday. Forty percent of Amazon’s U.S. advertising business in 2019 will come from mobile, up from 35 percent last year. Analyst Andrew Lipsman noted margin downside from declining Amazon Web Services growth. Total U.S. e-commerce sales are expected to grow 14 percent this year to $586.92 billion. Amazon’s U.S. e-commerce sales are expected to rise 18 percent to $221.13 billion, for 38 percent of the market and 4 percent of all retail.

The FTC extended comments for its review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule from Oct. 23 to Dec. 9 (see 1910040026).