Chinese communications firms in the US face more pressure under Biden administration
- Commerce Department subpoenas ‘multiple’ information tech companies in US
- In a unanimous vote, the FCC agrees that China Unicom (Americas), Pacific Networks unit have not proved independence from Beijing
The US Commerce Department announced that it had served subpoenas on “multiple Chinese companies that provide information and communications technology and services (ICTS) in the United States”, without specifying which were targeted.
The move, announced by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, was pursuant to an executive order signed by Trump called “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain”, for which Commerce Department issued implementing rules in January.
“The unrestricted use of untrusted ICTS poses a national security risk,” said Raimondo. “Beijing has engaged in conduct that blunts our technological edge and threatens our alliances.”
“The administration is firmly committed to taking a whole-of-government approach to ensure that untrusted companies cannot misappropriate and misuse data and ensuring that US technology does not support China’s or other actors’ malign activities,” she said.