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.”

The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance said India has become the latest market to explore use of TV white spaces spectrum with the government there issuing eight experimental licenses in the 470-582 MHz band. “The purpose of these licenses is to carry out experiments at several locations using TV white space-like rules and regulations already adopted (or being adopted) in other countries such as Malawi, Ghana, Singapore, the Philippines, UK, USA and Canada,” DSA said Thursday. “This decision opens up opportunities for the use of sub-1 GHz spectrum in India in either an unlicensed or lightly licensed fashion without the need for spectrum auctions.”

The Department of Energy should “abandon” or “at least, delay finalization,” of its proposed rule to require the filing of “certifications of admissibility” at time of entry for products subject to energy efficiency standards (see 1512310008), CTA said in comments filed Monday and posted Wednesday in docket EERE–2015–BT–CE–0019. CTA objects to the proposed rule “in both substance and timing,” it said. “While all manufacturers and importers must comply with federal law and companies would also want their competitors to do so,” CTA thinks the proposed rule “is unnecessary and unsupported,” it said. The eight-page filing follows joint comments CTA filed Feb. 29 with other groups, also asking DOE to withdraw the proposed rule or suspend the rulemaking process to do “further analysis and significant outreach” (see 1603140067). There's “no evidence” DOE’s proposed rule is “necessary,” CTA said in its latest comments. DOE “has not provided any data that supports the allegation that importers across the board are disproportionately bringing non-compliant products into the country at a significant level,” CTA said. The proposed rule “only provides some anecdotal information about imported motors’ noncompliance,” it said. “CTA supports and applauds DOE’s efforts to stop noncompliance, if it is indeed occurring. Considering the high burden that the rule would impose on a vast number of importers, however, CTA asks that DOE provide statistical evidence substantiating its noncompliance concern with the imported products at issue prior to finalizing this rule.” CTA also said there's no evidence the proposed rule “will address the alleged underlying issue,” and the provisions would cover “an overly broad scope of product.” CTA also fears the proposed rule would violate World Trade Organization agreements barring international trade barriers, it said.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership will help U.S. technology companies access expanded markets, CompTIA said in a news release Monday. Executive Vice President-Public Advocacy Elizabeth Hyman said TPP will promote “strong and balanced” protections for copyright and related rights, and will protect against locality requirements that direct companies to establish local data storage facilities, which could deplete the efficiency and economic benefits of the Internet. “We understand that this agreement negotiated among twelve countries could not accomplish all the needs of U.S. businesses. Accordingly, we encourage USTR to continue to work to further allow cross-border data flows and defend against data localization requirements for the financial services industry," said Hyman. "We urge Congress to move forward to ratify the TPP.”

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Andrus Ansip, the European Commission vice president-digital single market (see 1509240053), will discuss the transatlantic digital economy, including the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement (see 1602290003), Friday. The "armchair discussion" will be at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Danny Weitzner, who heads the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative, will moderate. The event is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. A Commerce Department spokeswoman said the event may be live streamed.

The federal government's interagency End-User Review Committee added Chinese telecom equipment company ZTE and three affiliated firms to the entity list after the ERC determined the trio had cooperated in a "scheme" to re-export controlled items to Iran contrary to U.S. law, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a notice to appear in Tuesday's Federal Register. ZTE's plan allegedly involved establishing, controlling and using multiple shell companies to illicitly re-export controlled items to Iran in violation of U.S. export control laws, BIS said. ZTE didn't comment Monday.