DOJ Directs FCC to Revoke China’s Authorization to Provide Telecommunication Services in U.S.

The Department of Justice has directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “revoke and terminate” China’s state-owned telecom company’s “authorizations to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.”

Following President Trump’s Executive Order passed one week prior, ordering a review of “national security and law enforcement concerns that may be raised by foreign participation in the United States telecommunications services sector”, the Department of Justice reports they have “identified substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations”.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr commented that there “is substantial evidence that the Chinese government intends to surveil persons within our borders,” and the FCC will “act on this recommendation”.