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A12 Technology
Saturday 16 January 2021
U.S. blacklists Xiaomi, CNOOC, Skyrizon, raising heat on China

By ZEN SOO disputed waters South
AP Technology Writer China Sea, where Beijing
HONG KONG (AP) — The has overlapping territorial
U.S. government has black- claims with other countries
listed Chinese smartphone including Vietnam, the
maker Xiaomi Corp. and Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan,
China’s third-largest nation- and Malaysia.
al oil company for alleged “China’s reckless and bel-
military links, heaping pres- ligerent actions in the
sure on Beijing in President South China Sea and its
Donald Trump’s last week aggressive push to acquire
in office. sensitive intellectual prop-
The Department of Defense erty and technology for its
added nine companies to militarization efforts are a
its list of Chinese firms with threat to U.S. national secu-
military links, including Xiao- rity and the security of the
mi and state-owned plane international community,”
manufacturer Commercial U.S. Commerce Secretary
Aircraft Corp. of China (Co- Wilbur Ross said in a state-
mac). ment.
U.S. investors will have to di- “CNOOC acts as a bully
vest their stakes in Chinese for the People’s Liberation
companies on the military In this July 9, 2018, file photo, an advertisement for Xiaomi is displayed at a subway station in Army to intimidate China’s
list by November this year, Hong Kong. neighbors, and the Chi-
according to an executive Associated Press nese military continues to
order signed by Trump last benefit from government
November. ple Inc. as the world’s No. 3 vices from Google. has been obtained from civil-military fusion policies
“The Company will take ap- smartphone maker by sales Separately, the Commerce the U.S. government. The for malign purposes,” Ross
propriate course of actions in the third quarter of 2020, Department put China Na- move comes after about 60 said.
to protect the interests of according to data by Gart- tional Offshore Oil Corp. Chinese companies were A CNOOC spokesperson
the Company and its stake- ner. Xiaomi’s market share (CNOOC) on the entity list, added to the list in Decem- said in a statement that it
holders,” the statement has grown as Huawei’s an economic blacklist that ber, including drone maker will “continue to monitor
read, although Xiaomi did sales have suffered after it forbids U.S. firms from ex- DJI and semiconductor firm the progress,” acknowl-
not elaborate on what was blacklisted by the U.S. porting or transferring tech- SMIC. edging that the company
those actions might be. and its smartphones were nology with the companies CNOOC has been involved had been put on the entity
Xiaomi Corp. overtook Ap- cut off from essential ser- named unless permission in offshore drilling in the list.q
EU court opinion leaves Facebook more exposed over privacy

By KELVIN CHAN forcer of the GDPR in Civil Liberties, said Bobek
AP Business Writer cross-border situations, is signalling that Ireland’s
LONDON (AP) — Any EU and must, in compliance privacy watchdog “can
country can take legal ac- with the relevant rules and no longer use its status as
tion against companies time limits provided for by lead authority for Google,
like Facebook over cross- the GDPR, closely coop- Facebook, etc. to hold up
border violations of data erate with the other data enforcement of the GDPR
privacy rules, not just the protection authorities con- across the EU.”
main regulator in charge cerned,” the opinion said. The Irish watchdog has
of the company, a top Facebook interpreted it as faced criticism for not deal-
court adviser said Wednes- a victory. ing quickly enough with a
day. “We are pleased that the rising pile of cross-border
The preliminary opinion is Advocate General has data privacy cases involv-
part of a long-running legal reaffirmed the value and ing big tech companies
battle between Facebook principles of the one-stop- since GDPR took effect. It
and Belgium’s data pro- This March 29, 2018 file photo shows the Facebook logo on shop mechanism, which issued its first such penalty
screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York’s Times Square.
tection authority over the Associated Press was introduced to ensure to Twitter last month, fining
company’s use of cookies the efficient and consistent it for a security breach, but
to track the behavior of comes ahead of a formal has the power to handle application of GDPR,” said still has about two dozen
internet users, even those decision by the ECJ’s judg- legal cases involving cross- Associate General Coun- more to go.
who weren’t members of es expected later this year. border data complaints sel Jack Gilbert. “We await Businesses could also face
the social network. Facebook argues that the - a system known as “one- the Court’s final verdict.” a bigger compliance bur-
The advice from the Eu- Belgian watchdog, which stop shop.” In Facebook’s Privacy advocates and den responding to more
ropean Court of Justice’s launched the case in 2015, case, it’s the Data Protec- experts, however, said privacy cases in multiple
Advocate General Michal no longer has jurisdiction tion Commission in Ireland, the advice could change EU markets, because it
Bobek potentially paves after the EU’s strict General where the company’s Eu- how data privacy cases would be easier for people
the way for an onslaught Data Protection Regula- ropean headquarters is are handled, by taking to file complaints to their
of fresh data privacy cases tion took effect in 2018. The based. the pressure off a single local privacy watchdog,
across the EU, experts said. company says that under “The lead data protec- watchdog. said Cillian Kieran, CEO of
The opinion, which is of- GDPR, only one national tion authority cannot be Johnny Ryan, a senior fel- privacy compliance start-
ten followed by the court, data protection authority deemed as the sole en- low at the Irish Council for up Ethyca.q