FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Lintao Zhang/Pool//File Photo
Washington [US]: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it revoked China Unicom’s ability to provide its services in the United States due to national security concerns.
This decision to eject the Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator from the US market adds to the tally of other Chinese firms sanctioned by the agency over security concerns. “The Federal Communications Commission adopted an Order ending the ability of China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States,” the FCC said in a press release on Thursday.
The FCC said that revoking the Chinese state-owned telecom operator’s authority safeguards the United States’ telecommunications infrastructure from potential security threats.
The FCC said it found that the company’s subsidiary, China Unicom Americas, was subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government and could be required to comply with requests from Beijing.
The Chinese government could potentially access, store, disrupt, and misrouted US communications, which may allow them to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the United States, the FCC said.
In March last year, the Commission found that China Unicom Americas had failed to dispel serious concerns regarding the retention of its authority to provide telecommunications services in the United States.
Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly denied US spying allegations. (ANI)
