Privacy Shield, the trans-Atlantic data transfer pact just approved by the European Commission, is "a good thing," wrote Michelle Dennedy, Cisco chief privacy officer, in a Tuesday blog post. She said the new self-certification agreement (see 1607120001), unlike its predecessor, safe harbor, provides checks and balances in U.S. government access to data and improves transparency and accountability of companies. Cisco intends to sign up for Privacy Shield, said Dennedy, but the company will continue to offer other mechanisms like model contractual clauses (see 1607060009). "As much as this may feel like a big compliance headache, one thing is certain," she said. "Both sides of the Atlantic take the need to address EU privacy concerns very seriously. Ultimately, it will drive trust in business and confidence with customers, regulators and citizens alike, and that is always a good thing."

The exemption to FCC Form 740 filing requirements for RF device imports (see 1607070061) is based on the actual import date and not the date-of-entry summary filing with Customs and Border Protection, said CBP in a notice. The FCC data must still be provided on the entry summary if the import date is before July 1, CBP said. That data isn't required for imports after July 1, it said. After July 23, CBP no longer will require FCC data filed electronically regardless of date of import, CBP said.

The EU isn't sufficiently protecting its own citizens' personal data and privacy rights in trade agreements, said a study commissioned by the European consumer alliance BEUC, Center for Digital Democracy, European Digital Rights and the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD). The study, by University of Amsterdam's Institute for Information Law, released Wednesday, said existing free-trade agreements like the General Agreement of Trade in Services and ones being negotiated like the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could challenge and potentially loosen EU privacy rules. CDD Executive Director Jeff Chester said in a joint news release Wednesday that the U.S. is pushing for an "unprecedented expansion of commercial data collection, threatening both consumers and citizens." He said companies like Facebook and Google want to use agreements like TTIP as a "digital 'Trojan Horse' that effectively sidesteps the EU’s human-rights-based data protection safeguards." TACD Senior Policy Adviser Anna Fielder said "the EU’s opaque and inconsistent system of granting third countries so-called ‘adequacy’ status for transferring personal data of its citizens makes it vulnerable to legal challenge by trade partners ... The EU must not make some partners more equal than others when deciding on the adequacy of their data protection laws." Study recommendations include "no direct effect" clauses in deals as a way to essentially stop challenges to privacy standards and having the European Data Protection Supervisor or the European Court of Justice provide opinions on proposed agreements.

Visteon completed its acquisition of AllGo Embedded Systems, an India-based supplier of embedded multimedia and smartphone connectivity software for the auto industry, the buyer said in a Monday announcement. The deal “supports Visteon’s global vehicle cockpit electronics business and enables Visteon to offer a highly integrated solution to automakers that includes multimedia software and codecs, and smartphone connectivity features,” Visteon said.

The FCC issued guidance on the July 1 suspension of Form 740 filing requirements. The agency temporarily waived the Form 740 requirements until the end of the year for imported RF devices due to the transition to automated commercial environment for customs. "This suspension only eliminates the filing requirements; all other requirements related to importation and to compliance with equipment authorization rules for radio frequency equipment continue to apply," the FCC said Wednesday.

Europe plans to launch large-scale testing of connected car and autonomous vehicle technologies next year, including use of various high-speed wireless networks, several major trade associations said Thursday in a news release. The initiative was outlined in a EU-hosted meeting in Brussels Wednesday, said the groups, including the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, European Automobile Manufacturers Association, European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, European Competitive Telecommunications Association and GSMA. The initiative will test functionalities, including cooperative collision avoidance, high density platooning, local-hazard warnings, remote control parking and traffic flow optimization across several EU countries, the release said. The testing will be in two phases, with the first, from 2017 to 2019, using 4G technology, and the second, running until 2021, using both 4G and 5G technologies, it said. The groups said cybersecurity, network latency, personal data protection, safety and service quality will be prioritized and addressed. A consortium of European telecom and automotive companies, which will be established later this year, will define the project's scope and negotiate potential co-financing with the EU and member states, the release said. "Trials will focus on addressing cross-border challenges such as the lack of harmonised spectrum, seamless network handover of vehicles at borders and open road infrastructure data," it said. "The trials will build on existing national projects and use their infrastructure where possible."

Asia Pacific continued to lead global e-commerce in 2015, after taking over the top spot in 2013, said a Euromonitor report Tuesday. Mobile e-commerce sales for the region, comprising 14 economies, grew 113 percent to $200 billion, it said. The report cited increasing demand for convenience in Asia, driven by urbanization, smaller households and an “on-demand culture.” Overall retail sales for the top 500 retailers in the region slipped 5 percent in 2015 to $964 billion, due to the strong U.S. dollar, Euromonitor said.

The Article 31 Committee of representatives from EU member states plans a Friday vote on Privacy Shield, said a European Commission summary of a committee meeting last week. In the brief summary, the EC said "various improvements" during negotiations the week before with the U.S. (see 1606270055) to the proposed trans-Atlantic data transfer deal were explained to committee members. Several members wanted more time to study the changes before voting Friday, the summary said. Bruno Gencarelli, head of EU Data Protection Unit, told attendees Tuesday at an international privacy conference in the U.K. that the proposed trans-Atlantic data transfer deal would be voted on "this week, and, following a positive vote, the [European] Commission would subsequently be able to adopt an adequacy decision for EU-US data transfers next week," according to a summary of his talk provided by the conference. He said the changes to Privacy Shield include strong data retention and transfer rules, plus government access to the data. "We are moving from self-certification to a much more controlled framework," said Gencarelli. Several other European entities criticized Privacy Shield as providing inadequate protection for Europeans' personal data from U.S. government access and inadequate redress options (see 1605310017). Experts expect a court challenge to the agreement if the EC approves it.

An International Trade Commission order bans import of some Arista network devices, including routers and switches, that allegedly infringe patents held by Cisco, the ITC said in Wednesday's Federal Register. The commission set no bond while the U.S. Trade Representative conducts its 60-day review on whether to issue a veto of the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban. The ITC issued a limited exclusion order against Arista and ended its investigation into the company. Arista disagrees with the ITC "that we infringe these patents or that they are valid" but respects the order and will "fully comply," CEO Jayshree Ullal wrote customers last week, in a communication provided to us Thursday by an outside company spokesman. "We intend to fully adhere to all ITC legal requirements and all products that are manufactured" in the U.S. will have "design-around versions" of the company's extensible operating system, Ullal wrote. "All international customers are unaffected by ITC orders. Our primary focus is the continued supply and service of non-infringing products."

The Electronic Components Industry Association and other trade groups stopped an industry recommendation from going forward for a Customs and Border Protection pilot program to test a new approach to gray market imports, said the ECIA in a Sunday news release. It said the ECIA, Semiconductor Industry Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed the recommendation during a recent Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Working Group session. Gray market products are imported goods that were intended for sale outside the U.S. The proposed "Known Importer Program" for gray market products "would have established a known importer status for unauthorized sellers to bypass detention and inspection of shipments at the borders," said the ECIA. "The proposal called for trade associations to administer the program by designating which of its members met the program’s criteria for a known importer. The proposal, if it had been adopted, would have set up a pilot program to test the concept for importers of electronic components." The COAC is made up of industry members that make recommendations to CBP, which ultimately decides whether a COAC-endorsed initiative will be taken up. CBP and a co-chair of the COAC Trade Enforcement and Revenue Collection Subcommittee, which the IPR Working Group is part of, didn't comment Tuesday. "This proposal would have seriously impaired the integrity of the authorized distribution channel for electronic components," said Robin Gray, ECIA general counsel. "Our zealous opposition to the proposal was clearly a determining factor in the [IPR working group's] decision not to recommend the program."