CEA is “disappointed” that President Barack Obama “missed the opportunity” in his State of the Union address “to push for strategic immigration reform,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro Wednesday in a statement. Immigration reform for the high-skilled is needed “to keep the world’s best and brightest here in the U.S. to build companies and create jobs, a key policy component necessary to maintain our leadership in innovation,” Shapiro said. “We also would have appreciated the recognition he provided in the 2014 State of the Union speech that patent trolls are hurting America's job creators.” Shapiro hailed Obama’s promise to “proactively seek bipartisan support” of trade promotion authority (TPA), “especially with the opportunity we have this year to pass trade agreements that help our manufacturing sector.” To compete in the global marketplace, “U.S. manufacturers have to be able to effectively supply the world with their products,” Shapiro said. “Passing TPA legislation that reflects the realities of the digital age would not only improve U.S. trade, but also strengthen job creation and bolster our economic recovery.” CEA agrees with the need to preserve an open Internet, Shapiro said. But “the best way to do so is through a measured and common-sense approach that encourages competition” among ISPs and investment in the Internet, he said. That’s “a solution that balances the desire for open access with the need to continue encouraging innovation,” he said. CEA also backs Obama’s call “to reform unfair and outdated tax laws that allow more than $2 trillion in U.S. corporate earnings to be held overseas, and use those funds to help upgrade our nation’s infrastructure,” Shapiro said.

The FTC won a partial summary judgment against Dish Network for “tens of millions of calls” violating the commission’s telemarketing rules, said the FTC in a news release Wednesday. The FTC was a co-plaintiff along with Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina in the case, which was filed in 2009, the agency said. A U.S. District Court judge in Springfield, Illinois, said Dish and its vendors were responsible for more than 4.09 million calls made to numbers on the Do Not Call registry, and Dish retailers were responsible for another 2.73 million calls to numbers on the registry. The court also said Dish was responsible for more than 1.04 million calls to consumers who had already told Dish they didn’t want to receives such calls and whose phone numbers were on a Dish internal do-not-call list. “The court left the issue of whether Dish is liable for any entity-specific violations relating to its retailers to be determined at trial,” the FTC said. Dish and three of its retailers also were found to be responsible for nearly 49.74 million “abandoned calls" -- outbound calls where the person answering is not connected with a sales person within two seconds. Prerecorded telemarketing messages violate the abandoned call rule because the telemarketer is not connecting the call to a sales representative within two seconds, the FTC said. Because the FTC won only a partial summary judgment, other aspects of the case, such as Dish’s responsibility for its retailers in some instances, remain to be litigated at trial, the FTC said. Dish "respectfully disagrees with the bulk of the decision by the Court," a company spokesman told us. The FTC has "outsourced the management of the National Do Not Call Registry to contractors, with minimal oversight, resulting in a Registry that is inaccurate and that the U.S. Government itself characterizes as ‘a mess,’" Dish said. "While the FTC acknowledges its own failures regarding the maintenance of the Registry, it nonetheless attempts to hold American businesses to a different standard."

Facebook’s global economic impact was $227 billion in 2014, said a study released Tuesday by Deloitte. The social media company created 4.5 million jobs, it said. The study, which Deloitte prepared for Facebook, measured the company's effect on marketing services ($148 billion); platform and app development ($29 billion); and the demand for mobile devices and broadband services ($50 billion). The study’s findings focused on third parties affected by Facebook and excluded the revenue and jobs within the social media company. Facebook generated $100 billion in the U.S.; the European Union, $68 billion; the U.K., $11 billion; and Brazil, $10 billion, said Deloitte. It said the company’s activities created 1.07 million jobs in the U.S.; the EU, 1.13 million jobs; and 335,000 jobs in India.

The FCC asked Dish Network for programming agreements for its Sling TV service, as part of the review of the Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable, said a letter filed in docket 14-57. The FCC is looking for agreements and any documents related to programming negotiations between Dish and A+E, CBS, Comcast, ABC, E.W. Scripps and Turner Broadcasting, the letter said. Dish has until Jan. 23 to submit the material.

Synacor and Verizon partnered to offer a “seamless” start page and search feature to FiOS customers using Verizon's TV Everywhere offering, Synacor said in a news release Wednesday. It said the partnership expands FiOS viewers' search functions and integrates watching Verizon's content on a TV with watching it on a mobile device.

The FCC Wireless Bureau extended by two weeks the comment deadline on a Nov. 21 public notice seeking to refresh the record on wireless hearing aid compatibility rules. Comments are now due Feb. 5, replies Feb. 20. CTIA, the Hearing Loss Association of America and the Telecommunications Industry Association sought a 30-day delay, the bureau noted Monday. The groups said the extension would allow “a more robust record” to develop, the bureau said. It opted instead for 14 days, saying "we believe the additional time will facilitate careful and deliberate considerations of these matters.”

HDBaseT for Ultra HD digital connectivity is in line to be adopted as part of the IEEE standards portfolio, said the IEEE Standards Association and the HDBaseT Alliance Tuesday at CES. HDBaseT enables all-in-one transmission of Ultra HD video through a single 100-meter Cat6 cable, delivering uncompressed 4K video, audio, USB, ethernet, control signals and up to 100 watts of power, the groups said. HDBaseT “simplifies cabling, enhances ease-of-use, and accelerates deployment of ultra-high-definition connectivity solutions,” the groups said. IEEE’s adoption of the standard, once complete, “will help enhance HDBaseT's impact and influence in today's connected world,” they said. IEEE voting on the HDBaseT standard adoption is expected this month, with final approval by February, they said.

Models of an AC power adapter and an LED lamp bear counterfeit UL logos, UL said in two separate notifications released Wednesday. Distributor Golden Eagle Toys, of Winnipeg, Canada, sold the power adapter (Model JHSS80640850) as part of a “radio-controlled helicopter toy” at “festivals, shows and exhibitions,” as well as at its own e-commerce site, UL said. Distributor Friendly Service Sales, of Downey, California, sold the seven-watt LED lamp (Model XPL13-41K) on eBay, UL said. In both cases, UL has not tested the devices and can’t vouch for whether they “comply with any safety requirements,” UL said. Attempts to reach either distributor for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Sony’s decision to release The Interview​ on Christmas Eve for rental or purchase through Google Play, YouTube Movies and Xbox Live came a week after Sony began contacting “a number of companies, including Google, to ask if we’d be able to make their movie, 'The Interview,' available online,” said Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond Wednesday in a blog post. “We'd had a similar thought and were eager to help -- though given everything that’s happened, the security implications were very much at the front of our minds,” Drummond said. “Of course it was tempting to hope that something else would happen to ensure this movie saw the light of day. But after discussing all the issues, Sony and Google agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country (however silly the content might be)." Xbox Live also is offering the movie for sale and rental, Drummond said. It’s also available through a website Sony set up called seetheinterview.com. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Wednesday that his company made the decision to support Sony after “substantial thought.” Microsoft “decided to stand up with Sony and work with others to ensure that freedom of expression triumphs over cyberterrorism,” Smith wrote. Through Xbox Live, the movie is available to U.S. customers who own an Xbox console, a Windows Phone, or a PC or tablet running Windows 8 or 8.1, Smith said. Sony also is releasing the movie in select theaters nationally on Christmas Day. Sony Entertainment representatives didn't comment on why The Interview isn't being offered online through such Sony vehicles as the PlayStation Store.

The Thread Group is expected to have product certification in place in the first half of 2015 for its IP-based low-power wireless networking protocol, the alliance said Tuesday. UL will manage the product certification process for Thread with support from Granite River Labs, which will work with UL to develop the “test harness” developers will use in building, testing and certifying Thread-enabled products. Recent high-profile additions to membership, now at 50 companies, include Energizer, Kwikset, PG&E and Whirlpool. Other Thread Group member companies are Atmel, California Eastern Laboratories, Inc., CamPoint, GainSpan, Granite River Labs, Grid Connect, Imagination Technologies, Insteon, Intellihot Green Technologies Inc., iOT Tech, Jasco, Keen Home, Kwikset, leakSMART, Linx Technologies, LUX Technology Group, Marvell Technology Group, Midea Group, Nanoleaf, Net2grid, Pacific Gas & Electric, Proximetry, Salto Systems, Sansa Security, Shenzhen Rakwireless Technology, Skyley Networks, Stack Lighting, Telegesis, TÜV Rheinland Group, Tyco, UL, WigWag and Zonefirst. Three tiers of membership to Thread are available: sponsor, contributor and affiliate, it said.