The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday said it is investigating nine Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co (華為), ZTE Corp (中興通訊), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co (杭州海康威視數字技術), China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) and China Telecom Corp (中國電信) to determine if they are seeking to evade US restrictions.
The Chinese companies have all been placed on the FCC’s “Covered List” that deems specific communications equipment and services pose a threat to US national security.
The companies may be still operating in the US, because they do not believe the designation prohibits particular types of operations, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said.
Photo: AFP
Other companies under investigation include Hytera Communications Corp (海能達通訊), Dahua Technology Co (大華技術), Pacifica Networks/ComNet (信通電話) and China Unicom (Americas) Operation Ltd.
It is the latest in a series of actions against Chinese telecom and technology firms by Washington. The FCC previously barred the Chinese companies from providing telecommunications services in the US, citing national security concerns.
The FCC has reason to believe the Chinese firms on the list “are trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or ‘unregulated’ basis,” Carr said.
The FCC “will identify the scope of their ongoing activities and move quickly to close any loopholes that have permitted untrustworthy, foreign adversary state-backed actors to skirt our rules,” he said.
The FCC’s investigation is seeking detailed information about ongoing US businesses and information about other companies that might be aiding US operations.
The FCC said it sent letters of inquiry and at least one subpoena to the companies.
It last year advanced efforts to step up security of the Border Gateway Protocol, which is central to the Internet’s global information routing system.
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