In this biweekly Asia-Pacific Regulatory Spotlight feature, S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a roundup of significant recent regulatory events related to technology, media and telecoms the region.
TOP NEWS
* Wang Huning, a member of China's powerful Politburo Standing Committee, defended the country's censorship of the web at a state-backed World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, The New York Times reported Dec. 3.
* Google has fully paid its tax for 2015 to the Indonesian government, the Jakarta Globe reported Nov. 30, citing Antara News. The directorate general of taxation Ken Dwijugiasteadi said the government cannot reveal the exact amount paid due to a confidentiality rule.
* The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opened a probe into digital search engines, social media platforms and digital content aggregators to study their effect on competition in media and advertising services and will affect online giants Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc., the ACCC said Dec. 4.
* The Japanese Supreme Court ruled the payment of public broadcasting fees to support the NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) mandatory, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 6.
* A U.S. appeals court said Dec. 5 that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will have to defend itself against shareholder accusations that it failed to disclose a regulatory warning about counterfeit goods ahead of its 2014 IPO.
JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
* The Korea Communications Commission, or KCC, plans to strike down on profane content by revising relevant laws this year, applying DNA filtering technology by 2018, and develop artificial intelligence-based real-time review technology by 2019, IT Chosun reported Dec. 7.
* The South Korean government on Dec. 5 announced the revision of the IPTV Act, which allows cable TV and IPTV operators to provide various service plans more swiftly.
* The KCC will come up with tough measures against Facebook for causing latency to users of SK Broadband, Herald Biz reported Dec. 3.
* U.S. International Trade Commission voted to investigate chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. over patent infringement allegations by U.S.-based Netlist Inc., Yonhap News Agency reported Dec. 2.
* Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to revise regulations to allow more companies to enter 5G wireless services, The Nikkei reported Nov. 28.
CHINA
* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is holding talks with Chinese security officials regarding the installation of built-in identity information in mobile phones, Yicai Global reported Dec. 5.
* The European Union General Court rejected Xiaomi Inc.'s efforts to register its tablet Mi Pad as a European trademark, ruling that the name could confuse consumers for being too similar to Apple Inc.'s iPad, Reuters reported Dec. 5.
* China Mobile Ltd. is the first Chinese carrier to get the content delivery network license by China's ministry of industry and information technology, JRJ reported Dec. 4.
INDIA
* The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission invited applications for 4G mobile telecommunications license and set Feb. 13, 2018, as the spectrum auction date, The Daily Star reported Dec. 5.
* The Unique Identification Authority of India ordered a probe against Bharti Airtel Ltd. for allegedly violating the country's Aadhaar Act and is considering imposing a financial penalty on the telco, Times News Network reported Nov. 30, citing unnamed sources.
* China Development Bank filed an insolvency case against Reliance Communications Ltd. under India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Mint reported Nov. 28.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Total Access Communication Public Co. Ltd., or Dtac, has been summoned by Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission on Dec. 12 to discuss the technical glitch that led the telco to bill one of its customers 461 billion Thai baht, and the 50,000 unused Dtac SIM cards seized by customs at the Thai-Cambodian border, Thairath reported Dec. 9.
AUSTRALIA
* The Australian Taxation Office listed News Corp Australia Pty. Ltd., Foxtel and Dentsu Aegis Network among corporate tax evaders in the country, Mumbrella reported Dec. 8.
* The New Zealand Commerce Commission on Dec. 7 said it released its final decision on the Telecommunications Development Levy (TDL) liability allocation for 16 telcos. Major providers such as Spark New Zealand Ltd., Vodafone NZ, Chorus Ltd. and Trilogy International Partners Inc.'s 2degrees Mobile will shoulder more than 90% of the government's NZ$50 annual levy.
* The ACCC said Dec. 7 that it will not oppose the proposed merger of Fox Sports Australia Pty. Ltd. and Foxtel.
* Village Roadshow Ltd.'s Roadshow Films Pty. Ltd. wants a piracy-facilitating app and an associated website blocked by Australian internet service providers and is seeking action in the Federal Court of Australia, ZDNet reported Dec. 6.
* Television Broadcasts Ltd. went to federal court in a bid to block illegal online streaming of TVB's broadcasts through internet-connected set-top boxes in Australia, Computerworld reported Dec. 6.
* As expected, the Australian Communications and Media Authority on Nov. 28 said it launched an auction of spectrum in bands that remained unallocated after its 2015 auction.
