Schumer, Cotton Want FCC to Review Licenses of China Telecom, China Unicom
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., urged the FCC to open a proceeding to review revoking Communications Act Section 214 certifications of China Unicom and China Telecom to operate on U.S. networks. Chairman Ajit Pai…
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“has made it clear” the FCC “is reviewing” the two Chinese government-owned telecom companies' Section 214 statuses, a spokesperson said. The agency has had the two providers' Section 214 licenses in its crosshairs since May, when commissioners voted 5-0 to revoke the license of Chinese government-owned provider China Mobile (see 1905090039). China Mobile's license “posed special concerns due to its size and resources,” but “the evolving national security environment and increased knowledge of the Chinese government’s role in economic and other forms of espionage suggest that effectiveness of prior mitigation measures require re-examination” for China Telecom and China Unicom, Schumer and Cotton wrote Pai Monday. Both providers “continue to have access to our telephone lines, fiber optic cables, cellular networks and satellites in ways that could give it the ability to target the content of communications of Americans or their businesses and the U.S. government, including through the 'hijacking' of telecommunications traffic by redirecting it through China.”