FCC is investigating Huawei, whether other Chinese companies are evading U.S. ban
The FCC has launched a “full investigation” of Chinese companies already on its “covered list.” These companies include Huawei, ZTE and China Telecom, which the U.S. government believes are consistent with the Chinese Communist Party. In 2022, the Biden administration bans the sale of communications equipment, video surveillance equipment and services to these companies [US] boundary. ”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency had reason to believe that certain entities on the coverage list were still operating in the U.S. because they believed the ban did not include “specific types of operations or other types.” He said the companies are “trying to end these FCC bans by conducting business in the United States on a private or “unregulated” basis.”
This survey is the first major initiative under Carr’s recent National Security Council leadership under the FCC. The main purpose of the new council is to reduce the dependence of the U.S. technology and telecommunications sector on foreign adversaries, alleviate the country’s vulnerability to cyberattacks and espionage, and ensure that the U.S. “wins strategic competition with China, rather than key technologies.”
The FCC intends to collect extensive information about entities covered by the list, including details about its ongoing business in the United States and the business of companies that may contribute to its business. It said it would “bridge all loopholes that allow distrustworthy, foreign counterparts to state-backed actors [its] rule. ”
