Amid security threats, US revokes China Telecom's licence

Amid national security concerns, the US revoked China Telecom's licence to counter possible infiltration of its key networks by Chinese companies.

The decision was made by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and it comes at an important time, shortly after US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping vowed to rebuild communication channels after years of rising tensions. It is clear that even the current administration is not helping China anymore, reported The HK Post.

According to the FCC, China telecom is subject to control, influence and exploitation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government and it is highly likely that it will be forced to comply with the Chinese government's illegal requests to acquire data. This could be a huge security concern for the US.

With China's 2017 National security law in place, US actions can only be said to be justified, reported The HK Post.

This law was passed on June 27, 2017, and it came into effect the very next day on June 28, 2017. It gives the Communist Party of China sweeping powers to control and mine data from companies under its purview, most of which have an international presence.

The regulator further said that ownership and control of the said entity by the Chinese government raises significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities for the company and the Chinese government to access, store, disrupt or even misroute US communications.

Continuing to give China Telecom access to USA's market would be equal to inviting espionage. China is known to steal trade secrets and other confidential business information reported The HK Post.

In fact, the FCC also added that China Telecom America's conduct with it and other US government agencies also demonstrated a lack of trustworthiness and reliability.

Even the department of justice had said that China Telecom made "inaccurate" statements about where US records were stored, reported The HK Post.

With its licence revoked, China Telecom has 60 days to discontinue its US services. This news alone was enough to send US-listed Chinese tech stocks to go down sharply.

China Telecom America's spokesperson responded by saying that FCC's decision was disappointing and that it would pursue all available options.

China Telecom is known to provide services to Chinese government facilities in the US. The FCC had warned previously that it may shut down US operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecommunications companies, based on the risks assessed and raised by US security agencies.

The firms in question were China Telecom Americas, China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks Corp and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC.

Just two months back, a senator from the Philippines accused China telecom of espionage. China telecom had recently bought shares in Dito Telco, which, according to the senator, was undertaken deliberately to conduct espionage within the country, reported The HK Post.

Last year, the FCC designated Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp as national security threats to communications networks - a declaration that stopped US firms from tapping into a USD 8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from these companies.

( With inputs from ANI )