The Commerce Department proposed new procedures for reviewing transactions, including imports, that involve information and communications technology and services seen as a potential national security threat, it said Tuesday. The proposed rules are aimed at implementing President Donald Trump's May executive order, which directed Commerce to issue regulations to bar some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks. The order was seen potentially targeting Chinese's Huawei and ZTE (see 1905150066). Commerce proposes "a case-by-case, fact-specific approach to determine those transactions that meet the requirements" in the EO. Parties subject to it will be expected to "maintain records related to such transaction in a manner consistent with the recordkeeping practices used in their ordinary course of business for such a transaction," Commerce says in Wednesday's Federal Register. Transactions are "any acquisition, importation, transfer, installation, dealing in, or use of any information and communications technology or service." Transactions subject to the reviews are any that involve people or property under U.S. jurisdiction, plus "any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has an interest," it says. Transactions "initiated, pending, or completed" after May 15 would be subject to review. Comments are due Dec. 27 in docket DOC-2019-0005 via Regulations.gov. The Telecommunications Industry Association “has long maintained that supply chain risk management is best addressed by public-private partnerships and consensus-based, industry-driven standards, but there is a place for targeted and careful government intervention,” said CEO David Stehlin. “Today’s rules exemplify this approach and, through the invitation of comments from industry, represent a clear step forward towards a public-private effort." USTelecom is glad Commerce accepted “our recommendation to seek industry comment before establishing interim final rules, a process that should reduce the risk of unintended consequences,” said Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer. “We are especially encouraged the Department has already adopted a process to determine whether a transaction meets the requirements.” The Information Technology Industry Council appreciates Commerce's “wise decision to issue proposed rather than final rules to maximize the ability of the Department to account for crucial industry feedback,” said CEO Jason Oxman. “The tech industry will continue to engage with the White House, Commerce, and other stakeholders to ensure this process furthers important national security imperatives while allowing U.S. innovation to thrive as it is finalized.”

Ericsson expects 5G will grow to 2.6 billion wireless subscriptions globally by the end of 2025, for 29 percent of wireless accounts: “With the continued momentum for 5G, we predict 13 million 5G subscriptions by the end of this year.” A “big share” will be in China, where all three main service providers launched commercial 5G services in Q4, the equipment vendor said Monday. “Sign-up of customers started even before launch, with more than 10 million 5G users registered in October.” LTE is expected to remain “the dominant mobile access technology” the next six years, peaking in 2022 at 5.4 billion subscriptions globally before declining to 4.8 billion by the end of 2025 “as LTE subscriptions migrate to 5G,” said Ericsson.

The Council of Europe is exploring the need for global laws on artificial intelligence, it said. The human rights organization is taking part in an Internet Governance Forum event this week in Strasbourg during which representatives from governments, international organizations, business, civil society, academia and the IT sector will discuss internet policy issues such risks to human rights from advanced technologies. A CoE ad hoc committee on AI (CAHAI), which includes representatives from the organization's 47 members, met Nov. 18-20 to consider the feasibility of rules on developing, designing and using AI based on CoE standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The implications for human rights and democracy "are manifold and we need to be able to answer the challenges for individuals but also for the whole society," emailed Jan Kleijssen, CoE director-information society, action against crime. The meeting "clearly revealed the high level of interest paid by member States to CAHAI." Participants agreed to a feasibility study that will map work on AI already done within the CoE and other bodies, plus relevant legally binding and soft-law instruments. The exercise is expected to help identify the main risks and opportunities from the development and use of AI, Kleijssen said. Participants will look at what principles should be applied to creating and using AI, and consider what the most suitable legal framework is. They discussed the impact of AI on people and society, plus different AI policies, particularly those of the U.S., France, Germany and Russia. The panel will report to the CoE Committee of Ministers in May on its progress, and will launch a "comprehensive consultation to build a legal framework that answers to the need and expectations of the citizens." Asked whether, given numerous ongoing AI activities, it will be difficult to set any sort of global rules, Kleijssen noted EU common standards on respect for human rights, rule of law and democracy to which all CoE members are committed. The council is part of global efforts to address challenges of using digital technologies, including AI, and cooperates closely with other organizations such as the EU, UN and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Fifteen senators asked the Commerce Department to reverse its decision to approve Huawei-related export licenses (see 1911210027) for U.S. companies to have their products included in the Chinese telecom maker's equipment. The senators, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote President Donald Trump Thursday they're “concerned that the approval of additional, more permanent licenses will allow Huawei to fully resume its engagement with certain U.S. firms without an adequate assessment of the risks to national security.” Though the legislators acknowledged license decisions will come under a review with presumption of denial, they fear several licenses will be granted after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the agency plans to grant “quite a few." Democratic presidential candidates Cory Booker, New Jersey, and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts, were among the signers. Commerce "is issuing these narrow licenses to authorize limited and specific activities which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the U.S.," a spokesperson emailed Friday. "These applications were approved through an interagency license review process." Huawei and its affiliates remain on the department's entity list subjecting it to restrictions, the representative noted.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security finalized some interagency reviews of Huawei license applications and will begin issuing approvals and denials on a “rolling basis,” said Matt Borman, Commerce deputy assistant secretary-export administration. Secretary Wilbur Ross said the department will "send out the 20-day intent-to-deny letters and some approvals” for U.S. companies to export some things to the Chinese telecom gearmaker. Ross said Commerce got about 290 “requests for specific licenses.” BIS plans to approve at least “several” licenses while denying others, a Commerce spokesperson told us after Borman spoke at the agency's Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday. The Semiconductor Industry Association welcomes approvals for licenses that aren't national security threats. “Sales of these non-sensitive commercial products help ensure the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry, which is essential to national security,” said SIA President John Neuffer.

Customs and Border Protection extended until Dec. 16 comments on a new information request to be submitted to the OMB for an e-commerce data pilot, said Friday's Federal Register.

U.S. efforts to implement Privacy Shield are welcome but issues remain, the European Data Protection Board reported Thursday on the trans-Atlantic personal data transfer system. EDPB noted improvements in oversight and enforcement actions and the appointment of the remaining members of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and a permanent ombudsperson. Concerns include lack of "substantial compliance checks with the substance of" PS principles, and application of requirements to onward data transfers, human resources data and processors. Review team members "would benefit from broader access to non-public information, concerning commercial aspects and ongoing investigations." It urged PCLOB independently assess surveillance programs conducted outside U.S. territory while data is being transferred from the EU to the U.S. The EDPB isn't convinced the ombudsperson has strong enough powers to access information and remedy noncompliance. The FTC remains committed to "robust Privacy Shield enforcement," a spokesperson emailed. The agency's committed "to working with the Department of Commerce and our European colleagues to protect privacy and facilitate data flows," she added. The department didn't comment.

Rural Wireless Association General Counsel Carri Bennet raised concerns (see 1911080017) about a proposed national security order (see 1910300036) to ban equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF, meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “RWA members would like to understand whether maintenance or support would expand to areas not related to payments to Huawei and ZTE,” she said in docket 18-89, posted Wednesday.

DOJ is pursuing criminal charges against Aventura Technologies for selling Chinese-origin goods falsely labeled U.S.-origin, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York announced. Seven current and former employees were named. "Aventura imported networked security products from [Chinese] manufacturers with known cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and resold them to U.S. military and other government installations while claiming that they were American-made," DOJ alleged Thursday. "The government intercepted and covertly marked numerous" such shipments, it alleged. Some apparently were "pre-marked with Aventura’s logo and the phrase 'Made in USA,' accompanied by an American flag." DOJ said the company "made upwards of $88 million, including over $20 million in federal government contracts" over a decade, "while claiming that it was manufacturing its products at its headquarters in Commack," New York. The company didn't comment.

CTA will announce at CES it's working with the World Bank on how to use technology to solve global problems. CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said the association is working with the group to focus on global problems involving health, gender barriers, climate change, emergency preparedness, cybersecurity and other challenges. CTA officials also spoke Thursday about other CES 2020 plans (see 1911080045).