The show floor for the Eureka Park Marketplace at CES 2017 will expand by 16 percent to some 600 startups, said a CTA announcement Thursday. CES 2016’s Eureka Park accommodated 500 startups from 29 countries, CTA said. Since 2012, CES startups have been funded at more than $1 billion, said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro. CES introduced a formal application process to award qualified startups show floor space for 2017, it said.

Huawei joined the ZigBee Alliance at the Promoter level and accepted a seat on its board, said the alliance in a Monday announcement. The ZigBee Alliance “is heading in the right direction” toward the IoT, and Huawei is throwing its support behind ZigBee’s approach to device intelligence, said David Hoelscher, Huawei chief marketing director.

Several tech companies signed the White House equal pay pledge on Women’s Equality Day. Tech signatories to the pledge announced Friday included Akamai, Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, MailChimp, Microsoft and MuleSoft. About 50 companies signed the pledge since its launch a year ago.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association raised concerns Tuesday about a joint France-Germany push for what the industry group believes is a plan to weaken encryption. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière called Tuesday for EU legislation aimed at clarifying the rights and obligations of telcos and ISPs doing business in EU countries, including “obligations on operators deemed uncooperative in the removal of illegal content or decryption of messages.” Meanwhile, the European Commission is working on a new “ePrivacy proposal” that likely will include a loophole that allows governments to request access to encrypted data, CCIA said. “We are worried that EU proposals can allow governments to challenge end-to-end encryption and thus threaten the security and confidentiality of Europeans' communications,” said CCIA Europe Director Christian Borggreen in a statement. “It is certainly understandable that some would respond to recent tragedies with backdoors and more government access. But weakened security ultimately leaves online systems more vulnerable to all types of attacks from terrorists to hackers. This should be a time to increase security -- not weaken it.”

TechLogix Networx joined buying group Azione Unlimited and signed Azione vendor member Future Ready Solutions as its master distribution partner for the custom installation and light commercial markets, it said. TechLogix sells 18G 4K signal distribution, fiber optics, AV over IP and wireless connectivity solutions.

CEDIA launched an online community as a way for members to develop and sustain connections, it said in a Tuesday news release. At CEDIA Community, members can download resources, connect with peers, discuss industry topics, share ideas with industry experts in given subjects and extend conversations beyond in-person events, CEDIA said. CEDIA members have been sent a welcome email that walks them through the profile setup process, it said.

CBS executives listened to a discussion in conference calls last week of a revised app-based set-top approach “at the invitation of the [FCC] Chairman’s office,” said an ex parte filing. The apps involved would be designed and controlled by pay-TV carriers and “would help ensure that our valuable content and services remain inside of, and under the control of, [multichannel video programming distributors] with whom we have a direct contractual relationship for the distribution of our product,” said the CBS filing on the Wednesday and Thursday calls. The discussed proposal has technical issues in the delivery of viewer measurement data, and the system should use a license that has been drafted “exclusively” by MVPDs and programmers, the filing said. “We expressed support for the approach that provides that programming at all times remain inside of an MVPD-controlled app and that honors the sanctity of our contracts and content rights,” CBS said.

The FCC is considering a “revised approach” to proposed set-top box rules that “would ensure that all of Fox’s and other programmers’ valuable content would remain inside of, and under the control of, apps developed exclusively” by pay-TV providers, said 21st Century Fox in an ex parte filing posted in docket 16-42 Tuesday. “The Commission staff also stressed that third-party platforms, when distributing these MVPD [multichannel video programming distributors] apps, would be required to honor and abide by all of the terms and conditions set forth in programmers’ licenses with MVPDs.” Fox told aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Chief Technologist Scott Jordan it supported “a rule construct in which programming at all times remains inside of an MVPD-controlled app,” the filing said. In a separate filing in 16-42, TiVo criticized the pay-TV-backed apps proposal, which it said was already rejected by the FCC after the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee process. “The MVPD App proposal would represent a significant step backwards from the features and functionality that consumers enjoy today using CableCARD-enabled devices,” TiVo said. It lobbied Wheeler aides and Jordan as well. The agency is considering MVPD's Ditch the Box alternative to Wheeler's Unlock the Box NPRM to give pay-TV customers ways to view cable programming without leasing set-tops from those providers (see 1608040062).

CEDIA added 10 tech talks for its Expo next month in Dallas, it said in a news release Wednesday. The 20-minute talks from industry thought leaders for Thursday, Sept. 15, are: “How Millennials Will Reshape the Home Improvement Market,” “Disruption: How Enabling Technologies Are Addressing the Aging Tsunami,” “Expanding Your Referral Opportunities -- The Value of Working With a Real Estate Professional,” “The Internet of Intelligent Things -- a Look at Things to Come” and “Why Pay TV Still Matters in the World of OTT.” Saturday, Sept. 17, talks are: “Understanding the Opportunities of Bio-Adaptive Lighting,” “Voice Control Is Just the Beginning,” “Forget About Disruptive Technologies,” “Security, Surveillance and the Changing Landscape Until 2020,” “What Virtual and Augmented Reality Mean to Home Technology Professionals.”

Electronics manufacturers and pay-TV carriers must come into compliance with FCC rules for increased accessibility of user interfaces and program guides by Dec. 20, the Media Bureau said in a reminder public notice in docket 12-108. Pay-TV operators with 400,000 or fewer subscribers and pay-TV systems with 20,000 or fewer subscribers not affiliated with a carrier serving more than 10 percent of all multichannel video programming distributor subscribers have a deferred deadline of Dec. 20, 2018. The rules require accessible user interfaces for those who are blind and visually impaired, and also that companies inform consumers of accessibility options, the PN said. "Given the ample amount of time that has passed since adoption of the initial rules, we expect that covered entities have been working on the design and development of accessibility solutions that are compliant with the Commission’s rules in anticipation of the upcoming deadline."