US FCC prohibits Chinese telecom and surveillance equipment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Nov 2022 10:33
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The US Federal Communications Commissions prohibits authorization of several Chinese companies, calling them a threat to National Security.

Huawei is one of several prohibited by US FCC (Reuters)

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned, on Friday, equipment authorizations for video surveillance equipment or telecoms manufactured by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, calling them "a threat to national security."

The official Report and Order from the FCC read: "The actions we take today in adopting new rules and procedures comply with Congress’s directive in the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 to prohibit authorization of 'covered' equipment on the Covered List within one year of that Act’s enactment and lay the foundation to prohibit the authorization of any additional “covered” equipment that may be added to the Covered List based on a determination that such equipment poses an unacceptable risk to national security."

Consequently, the Report and Order noted its ban of all "telecommunications and video surveillance equipment produced by Huawei and ZTE (and that of their subsidiaries and affiliates)."

Additionally, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua also face a prohibited authorization until the FCC "approves these entities’ plans and measures that will ensure that such equipment will not be marketed and sold to for “the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure, or other national security purposes.”

According to the order, the restriction builds on efforts by the Commission, Congress, and the Biden administration to take unprecedented action as they continue to pressure China and challenge the One China policy.

In a statement Hikvision stated that its video products “present no security threat” to the US however, the FCC’s decision “will do a great deal to make it more harmful and more expensive for US small businesses, local authorities, school districts, and individual consumers to protect themselves, their homes, businesses, and property.”

US senators call TikTok 'massive surveillance' tool for China

The Chinese video app TikTok has recently come under severe attack from within the Democratic and Republican parties, while the US administration is considering a proposal regarding the continuation of the app's operation in the United States.

Two prominent senators from the Democratic and Republican parties announced that they will introduce legislation this month to ban the use of TikTok in the United States, amid fears that it is a Chinese “surveillance tool”, Bloomberg reported.

“It’s not just the content you upload to TikTok but all the data on your phone, other apps, all your personal information, even facial imagery, even where your eyes are looking on your phone,” Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton said on Fox News Sunday.

Cotton called the platform “one of the most massive surveillance programs ever, especially on America’s young people," advising Americans to delete the app and get a new phone.

The Biden administration is seeking a security agreement to keep TikTok operating in the United States and to avoid a ban that Donald Trump proposed.

The proposal being considered will condition all US user traffic to be routed through servers maintained by Oracle Corp., with the latter auditing the app’s algorithms.