IBM is plugging $200 million, out of a $3 billion global investment, into the worldwide headquarters for its Watson IoT business in Munich, it said in a news release. The investment is in response to growing demand from customers looking to incorporate IoT and artificial intelligence technologies, it said Monday. The HQ will be home to cognitive IoT Collaboratories, described as hands-on industry labs where clients and partners work with 1,000 IBM researchers, engineers, developers and business experts on automotive, electronics, manufacturing, healthcare and insurance. The goal is to apply new concepts and technologies; build IoT solutions; develop and test new business models, solutions and services; and “push the boundaries of what is possible with IoT,” said IBM.

The Commerce Department is studying economic impacts of cross-border data flows driven by the internet, NTIA said in a Friday blog post. NTIA and the Economics Statistics Administration also released a report, Measuring the Value of Cross-Border Data Flows. “These data flows are happening and we know they are having an increasingly significant effect on the economy,” NTIA said. “Solid statistical foundations for measuring the economic impact of cross-border data flows do not currently exist.” The report highlights ongoing efforts to measure data flows, including a Bureau of Economic Analysis project to refine measurement of services that can be traded using information and communication technologies. BEA and NTIA also started a three-year study to define industries and commodities comprising the digital economy so it can estimate contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Next steps for the department: (1) Improve coverage and quality of government statistics on the service sector; (2) develop standard nomenclature and definitions for concepts on cross-border data flows; (3) better understand how firms use data flows and their economic value; (4) develop improved and consistent macro-economic statistics to measure the value of the data flows and the digital economy, including impact to GDP; (5) continue dialog between the department and industry to facilitate data sharing; and (6) continue collaboration between Commerce and international organizations to spread the metrics.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a request for en banc reconsideration of Weinstein v. Iran, in which a three-judge panel ruled in August that country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) can’t be garnished as assets in a lawsuit judgment (see 1608020055). The family of Ira Weinstein had sought garnishment of Iran's .ir ccTLD as compensation for his death in a 1996 terrorist attack attributed to Iran, and other families in cases consolidated with Weinstein sought garnishment of the ccTLDs of North Korea and Syria. The families jointly sought the en banc hearing. The D.C. Circuit denied the request in a one-sentence order (in Pacer), saying no member of the court favored an en banc hearing. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, who remains the D.C. Circuit's chief judge, didn't participate in the denial decision.

Many companies remain wary about using the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and are relying more on other trans-Atlantic data transfer mechanisms such as standard contractual clauses, said the International Association of Privacy Professionals in its second annual survey, sponsored by EY, released Thursday. "While 50 percent of all companies that transferred personal data between the EU and U.S. in the past used Safe Harbor, just 34 percent say they intend to use Privacy Shield in the future," IAPP said. More than 4,400 U.S. companies used the old safe harbor arrangement before it was invalidated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in October (see 1510090023). The Department of Commerce opened the self-certification process for Privacy Shield, which was agreed to earlier this year, Aug. 1 with 196 companies -- including Akamai, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce and Workday -- approved as of Thursday (see 1608050007). IAPP said more than 80 percent of companies surveyed said they’re relying on standard contractual clauses, which is currently being challenged in ECJ (see 1607060009). IAPP said companies may be "hesitant" to use Privacy Shield since it might be legally challenged. Another mechanism called binding corporate rules is more of an option for larger companies, the survey found. Fifty-three percent of companies with more than 75,000 employees see it as a "viable solution," compared with 8 percent of companies with fewer than 5,000 employees. IAPP surveyed more than 600 privacy professionals -- 63 percent working for U.S. companies, 19 percent for European organizations and 10 percent for Canadian firms -- across the financial services, government, healthcare and pharma, professional services and technology and telecom sectors. IAPP said more than half polled expected privacy budgets to grow, and 72 percent said the topic is a board-level concern.

GTI Corp. and others sought FCC special temporary authority to deploy, connect and test U.S. parts of the Southeast Asia-U.S. undersea cable system, pending approval of their cable landing license application. They said an STA is needed for 180 days starting Oct. 1 to avoid a potential delay and added costs in building the system, which is also being reviewed by executive branch departments. Applicants said they believe they're nearing the end of the "Team Telecom" review, but can't be certain it will be completed by early October, "when the system -- which has already been manufactured in its entirety -- will be loaded on cable ships" to begin marine installation. "System loading sets in motion a series of interrelated processes the delay or rescheduling of which would impose substantial costs on the Applicants and raise concerns about continuing cable ship availability," said their STA request Wednesday in file No. SCL-LIC-20150626-00016. The system will connect Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and California, adding competition and capacity, and avoiding the "disaster-prone Luzon Strait," it said.

Amlogic and Dolby are demonstrating Amlogic’s 4K HDR S912 series chipsets with Dolby Vision integration at IBC in Amsterdam. The SoC is targeted to set-top box makers that want to offer over-the-top streaming, and includes an AVE-10 video engine for video codec processing of Trusted Video Path, multiple HDR formats and video watermarking technologies for secured 4K digital rights management applications, they said.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association said it strongly supports final net neutrality guidelines released last week by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications. BEREC guidelines clarify how national regulatory authorities should enforce net neutrality rules, but they don't cover services that aren't publicly available, IP interconnection services or virtual private networks (see 1608300002). In a news release Tuesday, CCIA said it supports an open platform that empowers consumers and fosters competition and growth, including building a digital single market. “BEREC is right to clarify that the regulations apply to providers of Internet access services and not to content and application providers or to websites," said CCIA Europe Vice President James Waterworth. He said "successful implementation" of the guidelines requires authorities to approach complaints on a case-by-case basis. "Whether conduct or particular programs constitute an infringement of the rules will depend on the specifics of the case and no assumptions should be made," he added.

Qualcomm, Nokia and Finnish broadcaster Yle planned to do the world's first demo of LTE supplemental downlink (SDL) technology in a TV band, they said Friday. The technology is expected to offer “new opportunities for broadcasters, which is also technically viable and does not harm Digital Terrestrial Television,” the companies said in a news release. The demo was slated for the Nokia Executive Experience Center in Espoo, Finland, Friday afternoon Finland time. “There has been a push in recent years by European countries to utilize the 700MHz band for mobile communications, which is supported by the European Commission in an overall EU strategy for the broadcast band,” the companies said. Roberto Viola, a European Commission official, said in the release that "this sends a clear signal to industry players and policy makers that there are many opportunities for broadcasters and their partners for using spectrum to foster a future-proof ecosystem in the UHF band.”

With IFA to open to the public beginning Friday, we observed crews placing signs Thursday at key entrances to the Messe Berlin fairgrounds warning visitors to the international consumer electronics show in Berlin to be aware of added security measures. “We ask for your understanding for our additional security checks,” read the signs we saw Thursday in German and English outside IFA’s North entrance. The signs urge visitors to use the smartphone app KATWARN for “fast and direct information” about the security restrictions and about any potential trouble. KATWARN bills itself as a free service developed by Fraunhofer that tells the user not only that “there is a dangerous situation, but also HOW you should behave,” said the service’s website. Airport-style metal detectors were visible at three entrances to the fairgrounds we visited since arriving Tuesday in Berlin when there never have been any at previous IFA shows. But we saw none in use for the Wednesday and Thursday IFA news-media days, nor were there any obvious added security measures put in place for reporters covering IFA, such as the type of restricted bag policies CES imposed in January after the November terrorist attacks in Paris (see 1512180053).

Governments around the world are disguising “techno-nationalist policies” as national security improvements, said a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released Thursday. The policies artificially give competitive advantage to domestic companies, hurting the global economy, said the Chamber. It urged countries to embrace a globalized information and communications technology (ICT) sector and allow foreign competition. “A highly connected and global ICT sector is the backbone of innovation and has arguably been one the most powerful drivers of global economic welfare over decades,” said Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant in a statement. “Today’s digital economy demands a free flow of data and ideas to make modern commerce and trade possible. From banking to e-commerce to managing a global supply chain, nearly everything requires complex transactions cutting across hardware and software platforms, industries, and jurisdictions.” The report was written in consultation with Covington & Burling and the Rhodium Group, the Chamber said.