AFP, Washington :
The United States threatened Thursday to cut off Beijing-controlled China Telecom from serving the US market because of legal and security risks, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
A recommendation by the government’s top departments, including Defense, State and Homeland Security, said that the Federal Communications Commission should “revoke and terminate” all authorizations for the Chinese giant’s US subsidiary, China Telecom (Americas), to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.
“The Executive Branch agencies identified substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations, which render the FCC authorizations inconsistent with the public interest,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
If approved, the move could mean that China Telecom’s hundreds of millions of phone and internet customers – it is China’s second largest mobile phone operator – could lose connectivity with or through the United States.
The agencies making the recommendation – which also included the Justice Department, the Commerce Department, and the US Trade Representative – said China Telecom is vulnerable to “exploitation, influence and control” by the Chinese government.
The United States threatened Thursday to cut off Beijing-controlled China Telecom from serving the US market because of legal and security risks, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
A recommendation by the government’s top departments, including Defense, State and Homeland Security, said that the Federal Communications Commission should “revoke and terminate” all authorizations for the Chinese giant’s US subsidiary, China Telecom (Americas), to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.
“The Executive Branch agencies identified substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations, which render the FCC authorizations inconsistent with the public interest,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
If approved, the move could mean that China Telecom’s hundreds of millions of phone and internet customers – it is China’s second largest mobile phone operator – could lose connectivity with or through the United States.
The agencies making the recommendation – which also included the Justice Department, the Commerce Department, and the US Trade Representative – said China Telecom is vulnerable to “exploitation, influence and control” by the Chinese government.
