The US Federal Communications Commission is poised to introduce a ban on companies that use certain Chinese technology and equipment from building submarine communication cables that connect to America.
The US telecoms regulator will next month vote on a new rule aimed at tackling potential Chinese espionage by ensuring new cables that land in the US are less vulnerable to threats from Beijing and other adversaries.
“Submarine cables are the unsung heroes of global communications, carrying 99 per cent of all internet traffic,” FCC chair Brendan Carr told the Financial Times. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China. We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership and access as well as cyber and physical threats.”
The measure will affect Chinese companies that are already included on a list of groups that the FCC views as posing a national security threat to the US. It will have an impact on Huawei, the Chinese telecoms company that supplies some of the equipment for submarine cables. Huawei previously sold a subsidiary that was the largest Chinese submarine cable manufacturer, but the US government remains concerned about the group, called HMN Tech. The US has accused Huawei of conducting espionage on behalf of Beijing. China has rejected the accusations.

Full report : The US FCC aims to introduce a ban on companies that use certain Chinese tech and equipment from building submarine communication cables that connect to the US.