Internal Facebook documents released by a British lawmaker Wednesday suggest CEO Mark Zuckerberg wasn't forthcoming with Congress when claiming the platform doesn’t sell user data, said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. British MP Damian Collins, chairman of Parliament's Digital Committee, released some 250 pages of seized internal documents showing Facebook discussing requirements for companies to buy a certain amount of digital ads to continue accessing user data. “Any evidence of a pay-for-data model would fly in the face of the statements Facebook has made to Congress and the public,” Markey said. The trove also included emails from Facebook Product Management Director Yul Kwon supporting questionable methods for accessing Android call history data without user consent. In February 2015, he discussed a change that “would allow [Facebook] to upgrade users without subjecting them to an Android permissions dialog at all.” Facebook’s 2011 FTC consent decree requires affirmative user consent for the collection of certain user data. “This is a pretty high-risk thing to do from a PR perspective but it appears that the growth team will charge ahead and do it,” Product Manager Michael LeBeau wrote. The Android feature in question allows users “to opt in to giving Facebook access to their call and text messaging logs,” Facebook blogged Wednesday, addressing controversial issues cited in the documents. The data is used to “make better suggestions for people to call in Messenger and rank contact lists in Messenger and Facebook Lite.”

The EU abandoning a proposal to tax digital services means the region won’t be singling out a “key global industry dominated by American companies,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, Tuesday. Instead of pursuing similar “double taxation,” other countries should continue working through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development “framework on the important global dialogue regarding the digital economy,” he said.

Any U.S.-Japan trade agreement should “prohibit” customs duties on digital products and electronic transmissions, commented the Information Technology Industry Council in docket USTR-2018-0034. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative sought feedback to help shape the Trump administration’s negotiating posture (see 1811270002). It’s “tempting” for governments to consider levying duties or other “blanket fees” on digital goods and services, said ITI. Banning those “unnecessary” costs will eliminate burdens on digital trade and “serve as a vital model for future U.S. trade agreements" everywhere, it said. ITI wants the USTR to use negotiations with Japan to promote joint "cybersecurity cooperation efforts,” and “both countries should affirm that risk-based, consensus-driven, and interoperable cybersecurity approaches are more effective at combatting digital threats than prescriptive, mandatory, and sometimes conflicting regulatory regimes that are emerging" worldwide. ITI also urges the USTR to seek commitments from Japan to allow into the country for testing and demo purposes tech devices that don't yet have regulatory authorization, it said. "Currently, Japan does not allow for the importation of any devices that do not hold regulatory authorizations for these purposes. Adoption of measures similar to FCC provisions allowing imports of products for testing or demonstration will give U.S. firms equal opportunities in Japan’s market."

The U.S. should come in before China in the 5G race, but China ultimately will have the globe's largest 5G ecosystem, ABI Research said Tuesday. It said China's advantages (see 1808210046) are its vast population, with 160 cities with a population of more than a million and 15 cities with more than 10 million, plus Chinese government efforts to make 5G a cornerstone of its industrial revolution strategy. The researcher said China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom will start large-scale deployments in 2020. Ericsson forecasts 5G will reach more than 40 percent of the world's population by Dec. 31, 2024 (see 1811270028).

Rural Utilities Service "Buy American" regulatory amendments take effect Tuesday, said a rule set for Federal Register publication Tuesday. "This will codify long-standing RUS requirements which Agency borrowers have been required to follow pursuant to statute, bulletin, and contract as early as the 1950s."

The FCC should help Canada resolve concerns with equipment standards for electromagnetic interference, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association commented to Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, for the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council that aims to reduce intercountry regulatory differences. NEMA said earlier this month that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Engineering, Planning and Standards Branch proposed revisions to Canada's equipment standards in April that would "create trade barriers and fracture the U.S.-Canada market for many products, including wall mounted lighting dimmers." NEMA recommended the FCC "assist ISED Canada in addressing equipment EMI concerns" and "the agencies develop a common approach that achieves EMI mitigation objectives while minimizing regulatory burden and preventing barriers to trade." The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers made similar recommendations.

The FCC intends to terminate Space Net's international authorization under Communications Act Section 214, after it failed to respond to a March 6 letter from the Department of Homeland Security, backed by the DOJ and FBI. The executive branch agencies sought termination "because Space Net is no longer in business," said an International Bureau public notice in File No. ITC-214-20061204-00538, and Friday's Daily Digest. The PN gave Space Net "final notice and opportunity" to respond by Nov. 23 to the DHS letter. Space Net couldn't be reached for comment.

A transatlantic framework for EU and U.S. law enforcement to access cross-border data could strengthen user rights and due process, Computer & Communications Industry Association Senior Manager-Public Policy Alexandre Roure said Wednesday. Calling for the framework to be in line with the U.S.' Cloud Act and EU laws, CCIA supports transatlantic negotiations scheduled this week in Brussels during the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting.

Tariffs that took effect Sept. 24 on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports over IP disagreements haven't hurt distributor Arrow much, but the company is nonetheless against them, said CEO Mike Long. "If one government anywhere in the world decides they’re going to increase tariffs, don’t be surprised if worldwide manufacturers” move production, as many have, he said on Thursday's Q3 call. Manufacturers are "smart enough to manufacture anywhere in the world,” and most do so “in more than one place,” he said. Long estimates about a third of customers shifted some production from China. Arrow's “real-time database” of electronics components, while not developed because of the levies showcases "the power of data" during the disputes, he said.

Engaging in multiple languages and scripts through internationalized domain names and expansion of the internet through IPv6 are ways the internet is evolving, ICANN CEO Goran Marby said Wednesday. He blogged about his recent appearance before the ITU’s 2018 Plenipotentiary conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. There, he warned against “well-intentioned” policies and legislation “which can inhibit users to connect to” the internet.