FCC revokes Chinese telecom provider licence due to security risks

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revoked China Unicom Americas’ licence due to ‘serious national security concerns’.

According to Bleeping Computer, this will effectively ban the telecom firm from providing domestic and international telecommunication services within the US.

China Unicom Americas is the biggest subsidiary of China Unicom and is a Chinese state-owned telecom company. Its network infrastructure covers over 30 countries and regions.

The order will instruct the Chinese telecom firm to stop providing its services in the US within the next sixty days. It has also asked it to terminate any domestic or international services within sixty days after the release of its order.

The FCC said, “The Order finds that China Unicom Americas, a US subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned enterprise, is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government and is highly likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight.

“The Order finds that China Unicom Americas’ ownership and control by the Chinese government raise significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities for China Unicom Americas, its parent entities, and the Chinese government to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute US communications, which in turn allow them to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the United States.”

Copyright © 2022 RegTech Analyst

Enjoyed the story? 

Subscribe to our weekly RegTech newsletter and get the latest industry news & research

Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst

Investors

The following investor(s) were tagged in this article.