US agency adds Chinese telecoms firms to national security threat list
- Pacific Networks Corp, its subsidiary ComNet (USA) and China Unicom (Americas) were put on the ‘Covered List’ by the FCC
- Other Chinese companies on the list include Huawei, ZTE and Hikvision
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) named Chinese telecoms companies Pacific Networks Corp, its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC and China Unicom (Americas) as threats to US national security, the regulator said Tuesday.
The designations are under a 2019 law aimed at protecting US communications networks.
In March 2021, the FCC initially designated five Chinese companies under its so-called “Covered List” – including Huawei Technologies Co, ZTE Corp, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.
The FCC said the companies are subject to the Chinese government’s exploitation, influence and control, along with the associated national security risks. They also raised concerns both “will be forced to comply with Chinese government requests for communications intercepts, without the ability to challenge such requests”.
The Chinese embassy in Washington and US lawyers for China Unicom and Pacific Networks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
