The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control added several more Chinese tech firms to its investment blacklist, including drone maker DJI, for allegedly helping Beijing track and detain Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The move, announced Thursday, also banned investments in Cloudwalk Technology, Dawning Information Industry, Leon Technology, Megvii Technology, Netposa Technologies, Xiamen Meiya Pico Information and Yitu. All were already on the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security entity list for export restrictions. The companies, which are now formally designated as having ties to the Chinese military, operate in China’s surveillance technology sector, OFAC said. The agency said DJI, the world’s largest commercial drone producer, supplies drones to the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, which was added to the entity list in 2019. Technology supplied by the companies helped Xinjiang authorities confine more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in detention centers, OFAC said. The companies “actively support the biometric surveillance and tracking of ethnic and religious minorities in China” through the “installation of thousands of neighborhood police kiosks and ubiquitous placement of surveillance cameras, collection of biometric data for identification purposes, and more intrusive monitoring of internet use,” OFAC said. A DJI spokesperson declined to comment. Megvii, CloudWalk, Xiamen Meiya Pico, Yitu, and NetPosa didn’t respond to requests for comment. Dawning and Leon couldn’t be reached. "The attempt of the U.S. to use Xinjiang to contain China will never succeed," said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese institutions and companies."

Democrats want the Biden administration to designate more spyware technology companies for human rights abuses, saying this complements existing export restrictions meant to curb their sales of surveillance technology to authoritarian governments. Wednesday's letter to the Treasury and State Departments sought Magnitsky Act sanctions against United Arab Emirates-based DarkMatter, Israel-based NSO Group and European companies Nexa Technologies and Trovicor. Target the companies and their senior executives, asked House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks of New York, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden of Oregon, and 16 others including Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Hawaii's Brian Schatz and Reps. Anna Eshoo and Ro Khanna, both from California. State and Treasury declined to comment.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 34 Chinese organizations to its entity list for actions “contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests” of the U.S., says Friday’s Federal Register. The agency also modified its May 2019 Huawei entity list entry by adding three Huawei “aliases” -- HMN Technologies, Huahai Zhihui Technology and HMN Tech. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t comment.

Australia's Fleet Space Technologies wants FCC OK for U.S. market access to offer IoT service with 40 low earth orbit satellites operating on UHF frequencies. In an International Bureau petition Tuesday, Fleet said it has six small satellites in orbit now, plans to launch another mid-2022 and then start batches of deployments in late 2022 that will lead to its constellation being completed in 2028. It said it eventually plans to up the constellation size to 200 and would seek that authorization later.

Regulations intended to rein in large internet platforms moved forward Tuesday as EU lawmakers debated the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and a key committee approved its report on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The measures appear to be generally popular, but some lawmakers and stakeholders said they don't go far enough. The DMA seeks to create a level playing field in the digital sector by regulating "gatekeepers" that control core platform services to the detriment of competition. The DSA aims to protect users from illegal goods, services or content by, among other things, imposing due diligence requirements on online intermediaries (see 2012150022). Amendments to the report were to be voted Tuesday, with a final vote scheduled Wednesday. That will set parliament's negotiating position for talks with governments in the council, who agreed on their approach in November (see 2111260016). The DMA would put Europe in the leadership of the digital space, said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. He noted criticism from across the Atlantic but said the DMA isn't against any country or company, but rather an effort to regulate that space. Lawmakers generally supported the DMA subject to several changes, including ensuring that social media platforms and messaging services are interoperable, that they're safe and protective of personal data, and banning personalized kids advertising. Some members worried that the parliamentary version weakens the EC proposal by, for example, reducing companies that will fall within its scope. The lead committee vetting the DSA, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, OK'd its report. The approach taken by IMCO rapporteur Christel Schaldemose, of the Party of Socialists and Democrats and Denmark, got backing from other committees that reviewed the proposal, she told a Tuesday briefing. Compromises included: It safeguards intermediary liability provisions in the EU e-commerce directive, and opens the "black box of algorithms," forcing large platforms to disclose such things as content that may breach their terms. Members of European Parliament introduced a right for consumers and businesses to seek compensation for DSA violations. Asked which changes might be controversial in talks with governments, Schaldemose said that the council wants to finish work quickly could be problematic. Targeted ads and the black box of algorithms might be tricky, she said. The European Consumer Organisation urged MEPs to "aim for a stronger liability regime for marketplaces when consumers are harmed, a ban on surveillance advertising altogether, and for all platforms to have to verify the legality of sellers and their products, not just the large ones." "Further work is needed on marketplace obligations, user redress, and data disclosure to law enforcement and researchers," emailed the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Parliament votes on the amended DSA proposal in January.

Global wireless 5G connections hit 438 million in Q3 and are projected to exceed 540 million by Dec. 31, 5G Americas said Tuesday. It noted Omdia predicts connections will reach 4.8 billion by the end of 2026, with 516 million in North America and 301 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. “While Oceania Eastern & South-Eastern Asia, which includes China, will account for more than half of all 5G subscriptions at the end of 2026, the Americas region will manage to carve out a 17% portion after growing 1,000% from 2021 to 2026,” said Omdia analyst Kristin Paulin.

Beijing reacted with scorn to the Treasury Department’s designation Friday of 15 individuals and 10 entities for their alleged connections to human rights abuses in several countries. Treasury singled out Chinese tech firm SenseTime for developing facial recognition algorithms it said “can determine a target’s ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs” in Xinjiang. Treasury’s action to block any business from being transacted with any of the named individuals or entities “seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs” and “gravely violates basic norms governing international relations,” said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Monday.

Ofcom is resuming licensing non-geostarionary orbit satellites now that it has updated licensing procedures, it said Friday. The updates include a coexistence check where applicants have to demonstrate coexistence is possible with systems already licensed in the U.K. and systems that have applied for a license and whose application is out for comment. Gateway licensees are required to commence and maintain transmissions within 12 months of being licensed.

AT&T launched a 5G network in Mexico, with plans to deploy in the biggest markets over the next three years, it said Wednesday. It also opened a 5G Innovation Laboratory for the country.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released a briefing schedule (docket 21-1233, in Pacer) Thursday for China Telecom Americas’ challenge of the FCC’s October order revoking the company’s domestic and international authorities (see 2111080056). The company’s brief is due Jan. 18, respondents' brief Feb. 17 and petitioner's reply brief March 10.