Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp were banned from selling electronics in the US by regulators who say the firms pose a security risk, continuing a years-long effort to limit the reach of Chinese telecommunications companies into US networks.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in an order released on Friday, also named connected-camera providers Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Dahua Technology Co, as well as two-way radio maker Hytera Communications Corp.
“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a news release. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”
Photo: Reuters
In a statement after the 4-0 vote, the FCC said that the products pose a risk to data security.
Past efforts to curb Chinese access include export controls to cut off key, sophisticated equipment and software.
Recently US officials have weighed restrictions on TikTok over fears that Chinese authorities could access US user data via the video sharing app.
“This is a culminating action,” said Klon Kitchen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, a public-policy think tank. “Things that began under [former US president Donald] Trump are now being carried out. The [US President Joe] Biden administration is continuing to turn the screws on these companies because the threat isn’t changing.”
In an e-mailed response, Hikvision said that its video security products “present no security threat to the United States, and there is no technical or legal justification for the Federal Communications Commission’s decision.”
The company said that the ruling would “make it more harmful and more expensive for US small businesses, local authorities, school districts and individual consumers to protect themselves, their homes, businesses and property.”
Huawei declined to comment, while Dahua, Hytera and ZTE did not respond to e-mails sent outside normal business hours in China.
The looming FCC move was not discussed in the bilateral meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Indonesia last week, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Biden did discuss technology issues more broadly with Xi and was clear that the US would continue to take action to protect its national security, the official said.
“This is the death knell for all of them for their US operations,” said Conor Healy, director of government research for the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based surveillance research group IPVM. “They won’t be able to introduce any new products into the US.”
Dahua and Hikvision stand to be affected most, as their cameras are widely used, often by government agencies with many facilities to monitor, Healy said.
Agencies including police also use handheld Hytera radios, he said.
In its order, the FCC also asked for comment on whether to revoke existing equipment authorization, Rosenworcel said in an online statement.
Merchants could be stuck with gear that is illegal to sell, Healy said.
In 2018, the US Congress voted to stop federal agencies from buying gear from the five companies named by the FCC.
The FCC said earlier that the companies are not eligible to receive federal subsidies.
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