In the news: China increases online publishing restrictions, the Apple-FBI tech security dispute gets debated and Qualcomm and Lenovo sign a licensing deal

Huawei backs Apple in phone unlocking dispute

Huawei Technologies joins Google, Facebook and other big tech players in backing Apple as it contests a U.S. government order requiring the unlocking of an iPhone used by one of the shooters in a California terrorist attack, in a clash over the balance between law enforcement and consumer privacy. Apple's CEO Tim Cook last week vowed to fight a court order that compelled the company to help investigators break into the phone. Huawei CEO Richard Yu said on Bloomberg TV that consumer privacy and security is key for smartphone makers, and that he supports Cook's idea. The Apple chief warned that complying with the order would set a dangerous precedent, compromise a key security feature and possibly allow parties to access sensitive data in the future, while the U.S. government argued it is a one-time request. Views on data privacy appear to vary among tech leaders. Just yesterday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates sided against most of his peers, saying that companies should cooperate with enforcement agencies in terrorism investigations, and that this is a specific case as opposed to an order requiring general information. And in an interview at Davos last year, Alibaba's Jack Ma said he would cooperate with the Chinese government on user data if the issue related to national security, anti-terrorism or a specific crime (although he had not yet had to hand anything over as of then). That said, China's Anti-terrorism Law explicitly requires internet companies to provide technical and decryption assistance in such investigations.

Qualcomm signs Lenovo to licensing agreement in China

Qualcomm signed new mobile-chip licensing terms with China's Lenovo Group, which agreed to pay royalties in line with new policies that specify how Qualcomm can charge customers for use of its technology in China. This means Qualcomm has now secured deals with China's five biggest mobile phone makers. Some local manufacturers had used the government's investigation of the San Diego-based chipmaker as a reason to hold off on paying all the fees that it was reportedly owed. Qualcomm is unique among semiconductor makers in that it profits mostly from licensing patents: phone manufacturers pay the company royalties regardless of whether they use its chips. This lucrative scheme has come under attack worldwide as governments scrutinized Qualcomm's business practices. The SAIC made it mandatory for dominant market players to license their IP rights last April, just after Qualcomm agreed to pay the NDRC a record $975 million fine for abusing its dominance through its chip-licensing practices. With the growing number, reach and impact of Chinese regulations that address the close knit between IP rights and competition, both licensors and licensees need to be cautious.

China issues broad rules for web publishing

China's broad new rules for online publishing have formalized the government's already strict control of the internet and expanded the scope of content stored inside its borders. The new regulations – jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television – bans companies with foreign ownership of any kind from engaging in online publishing, although they allow foreign-invested firms to cooperate with local partners on individual projects subject to prior approval. Any content published online, including text, maps, games, cartoons and audio and video files, must be hosted on servers in China. The rules take effect on March 10. Many of the outlined restrictions are already present in existing regulations, but what these Provisions for the Administration of Online Publication Services do is gather the fragmented rules into one comprehensive scheme. The “prior approval” required by foreign companies has replaced the term “security assessment” that was in the 2012 draft version, likely entailing greater scrutiny and discretion by the authorities and uncertainty for foreign owners of online publishing services that use the VIE structure or operate through a local partnership. The Provisions need to be followed up with specific details, and as of now it is unclear how foreign companies like Apple, which runs the App Store in China, or Walt Disney, which offers content through a deal with Alibaba, are affected by the rules. Either way, any local partners will need to apply for this new license. The Provisions also seem to impose rather onerous requirements on online publishers, such as being subject to an annual check and having to record the time, URL and content of everything they upload.

Huawei backs Apple in phone unlocking dispute

Huawei Technologies joins Google, Facebook and other big tech players in backing Apple as it contests a U.S. government order requiring the unlocking of an iPhone used by one of the shooters in a California terrorist attack, in a clash over the balance between law enforcement and consumer privacy. Apple's CEO Tim Cook last week vowed to fight a court order that compelled the company to help investigators break into the phone. Huawei CEO Richard Yu said on Bloomberg TV that consumer privacy and security is key for smartphone makers, and that he supports Cook's idea. The Apple chief warned that complying with the order would set a dangerous precedent, compromise a key security feature and possibly allow parties to access sensitive data in the future, while the U.S. government argued it is a one-time request. Views on data privacy appear to vary among tech leaders. Just yesterday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates sided against most of his peers, saying that companies should cooperate with enforcement agencies in terrorism investigations, and that this is a specific case as opposed to an order requiring general information. And in an interview at Davos last year, Alibaba's Jack Ma said he would cooperate with the Chinese government on user data if the issue related to national security, anti-terrorism or a specific crime (although he had not yet had to hand anything over as of then). That said, China's Anti-terrorism Law explicitly requires internet companies to provide technical and decryption assistance in such investigations.

Qualcomm signs Lenovo to licensing agreement in China

Qualcomm signed new mobile-chip licensing terms with China's Lenovo Group, which agreed to pay royalties in line with new policies that specify how Qualcomm can charge customers for use of its technology in China. This means Qualcomm has now secured deals with China's five biggest mobile phone makers. Some local manufacturers had used the government's investigation of the San Diego-based chipmaker as a reason to hold off on paying all the fees that it was reportedly owed. Qualcomm is unique among semiconductor makers in that it profits mostly from licensing patents: phone manufacturers pay the company royalties regardless of whether they use its chips. This lucrative scheme has come under attack worldwide as governments scrutinized Qualcomm's business practices. The SAIC made it mandatory for dominant market players to license their IP rights last April, just after Qualcomm agreed to pay the NDRC a record $975 million fine for abusing its dominance through its chip-licensing practices. With the growing number, reach and impact of Chinese regulations that address the close knit between IP rights and competition, both licensors and licensees need to be cautious.

In the news: China increases online publishing restrictions, the Apple-FBI tech security dispute gets debated and Qualcomm and Lenovo sign a licensing deal

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