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The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revoked the license of the telecommunications company China Telecom Americas to operate in its territory due to alleged risks to national security.
According to the order of "revocation and rescission of the authorization", the Asian giant company must suspend for 60 days all the services of its portfolio of approved services in the United States.
This is China's largest company in the field, and had the necessary U.S. authorization to continue operating for almost two decades.
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A spokesman for China Telecom Americas described this decision by the US federal agency as "disappointing" and said that they will pursue "all available options without ceasing to serve" users in that country.
What is the FCC's "justification"? The regulator assures that the sanctioned company "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government and is very likely to be forced to comply with Beijing's requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight."
Today, the FCC voted to revoke China Telecom America’s Section 214 authority to operate in the U.S. based on national security risks.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) October 26, 2021
Another important step towards addressing the threats posed by Communist China and those that would do its bidding. pic.twitter.com/qDIoIitL0t
It adds that the Chinese government's "ownership and control of China Telecom Americas significantly increases national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities" that could lead to or encourage espionage, given the possibility of access, storage, disruption and/or diversion of U.S. communications.
This decision also had an impact on the ostensible fall of shares of Chinese technology companies listed in the United States. A similar plunge occurred in the Hong Kong stock exchange, with a loss of more than 3% in the Hang Seng index.
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