A group of security agencies on Thursday urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke its permission for China Telecom Corp (中國電信) to operate in the nation.
“This recommendation reflects the substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks” associated with China Telecom’s access to the US telecommunications network, the agencies said in a filing.
The US and China are at odds over numerous issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, trade and the security of telecommunications networks.
Photo: AFP
US officials have moved to bar Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co (華為) as a security threat, an assertion the company denies.
China Telecom “unequivocally” denies the allegations, a company representative said in an e-mail.
“The company has always been extremely cooperative and transparent with regulators,” the representative said. “In many instances, we have gone beyond what has been requested to demonstrate how our business operates and serves our customers following the highest international standards.”
The recommendation to revoke an authorization held by China Telecom since 2007 is part of a review announced last year by the FCC, after it barred China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) from the US market.
The FCC usually follows recommendations from US security agencies.
“The threat from China Telecom is a reflection of the threat that we see from Chinese telecommunications companies generally,” US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said. “They are beholden to the government of China both by law and in fact to do its bidding.”
“We have seen behavior in violation of the mitigation agreement that we had entered into with China Telecom at the time that the license was approved,” Demers said. “That raises national security concerns.”
Agencies taking part in the filing included the US departments of justice, homeland security, defense, state and commerce, as well as the US trade representative.
China was also a factor in another regulatory decision this week when Google and Facebook Inc won approval for an undersea trans-Pacific Internet cable to Taiwan on condition the project not carry data traffic to Hong Kong.
“There is a significant risk that a direct cable connection between the United States and Hong Kong would seriously jeopardize the national security,” the US Department of Justice said in a filing to the FCC on Wednesday.
China Telecom offers US customers access to international private lines, which it markets as providing secure bandwidth for sensitive data, the filing said.
It also offers mobile services under the CTExcel brand name, the filing added.
The Chinese government has “ultimate ownership and control” of China Telecom and the company’s US operations “provide opportunities for increased Chinese government-sponsored economic espionage,” the filing said, adding that the company made inaccurate statements about where its records were stored, and had “inadequate” cybersecurity and privacy practices.
The scope of China Telecom’s activities in the US was not immediately clear.
The security agencies said that the company connects to the Internet at 18 points, providing “Chinese government-sponsored actors with openings to disrupt and misroute US data and communications traffic.”
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