The European Union and Japan finalized common rules to protect personal information, and launched what they called the “world's largest areas of safe data flows”. Firms can transfer data now that the executive European Commission finds that Japanese law offers “a comparable level of protection of personal data,” the commission said. “This adequacy decision creates the world's largest area of safe data flows,” EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova said, referring to an area of more than 600 million people. “Europeans'…
France's data watchdog (CNIL) announced a fine of 50 million euros ($57 million) for US search giant Google, using the EU's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the first time. Google was handed the record fine from the CNIL regulator for failing to provide transparent and easily accessible information on its data consent policies, a statement said. The CNIL said Google made it too difficult for users to understand and manage preferences on how their personal information is used,…
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz vowed to press ahead with a tax on large internet and technology companies, following France's example, as the European Union struggles to finalize a new EU-wide levy. France, which is pushing for a new so-called “GAFA tax” is advancing with its own tax to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on massive business operations in Europe. “It is only fair that internet giants in Europe pay a proper amount of tax,” Kurz…
Fifteen Democratic senators have proposed a new bill for protecting online information. The Data Care Act creates new rules around how companies handle the data of customers. Data collectors would be required to ‘reasonably secure’ information and to ‘not use individual identifying data in ways that harm users’. It requires data collectors to give adequate notice to consumers about breaches of sensitive information. If data collectors share or sell data with a third party, it would give the FTC the…
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched a public consultation to seek views on its proposed framework for the Telecommunication and Subscription TV Mediation-Adjudication Scheme which aims to introduce an alternative dispute resolution scheme for telecommunication and media services. This proposal was first unveiled in August 2016 as part of the public consultation on amendments to the IMDA Act and Telecommunications Act, and is intended to supplement existing consumer protection measures and dispute resolution approach to meet rising public expectations…
Wednesday, 24 January 2018 08:01

4G auctions to be held in Bangladesh

Four telecom operators in Bangladesh have applied to partake in a 4G auction in February, the Daily Star reported. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was given the green light to proceed with the auction, after the Bangladesh Supreme Court halted it. The auction was stayed by the Supreme Court in response to a petition from Banglalion Communications arguing that the notice inviting applications for 4G licenses contravenes 2008 wireless broadband guidelines specifying that no auction would be held, but…
The European Commission is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover from Apple illegal state aid worth up to €13 billion, as required by the Commission’s August 2016 decision. EU Member States have to recover illegal state aid within the deadline set by the Commission, which is usually four months. The Commission concluded that Ireland’s tax benefits to Apple were illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax…
The United States Federal Communications Commission has urged Apple to activate the FM (frequency modulation) chips that are in iPhone to promote public safety. Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released a statement applauding those companies that have “done the right things” by activating FM chips in their phones in light of natural disasters hammering the country. “In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones in…
Internet video calling services like WhatsApp, Skype and Viber, will be available to use in Saudi Arabia next week, after coordination between the Communications and Information Technology Commission and telecommunications service providers to allow applications that provide voice communications over the internet. Communications and Information Technology Minister, H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, said the commitment had been confirmed by the cooperating parties to enable internet users in the kingdom to use applications to make high quality voice and video calls, under…
The White House has intervened in a business transaction between a Chinese-backed private equity firm and a US chipmaker. US President Donald Trump has blocked Canyon Bridge Capital Partners planned $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corp. The decision has sent a clear message to Beijing that Washington will vehemently oppose any takeover deals that involve technologies that may have potential military applications. The bid by the Chinese-backed equity company was one of the largest ever attempted on the US…
Alphabet-owned Google is fighting back against the $2.8 billion antitrust fine it was given by the European Commission in June this year. The Californian tech giant has filed an appeal against the fine, which was the largest penalty ever given by the European Union’s regulator. The European Commission had ruled that Google’s positioning of its own shopping comparison service at the top of Google search results was an abuse of power. If the practice continued, the Commission said, more fines…
Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H.E. Eng. Yasser El Kady, told Reuters on Sept. 11, that Egypt will launch commercial 4G services by the end of September. The Minister also said the government will release additional frequencies to operators in the future without committing to a timeline. Minister El Kady said in May this year that Egypt was “ready to hand over 4G mobile frequencies to any company that is ready.” At that time, the Minister said in…
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