US wants undersea data cable to skip Hong Kong
- Landing station in city would ‘expose US communications traffic to collection by Beijing’, Justice Department officials say
- Pacific Light Cable Network proposed by Google and Facebook is awaiting approval by US Federal Communications Commission
US Justice Department officials on Wednesday recommended that a high-capacity undersea data cable system proposed by Google and Facebook bypass Hong Kong, citing potential national security concerns following China’s moves to exert greater control in the city.
The Pacific Light Cable Network pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission should connect the US, Taiwan, and the Philippines as planned but not go through Hong Kong, a Justice Department committee recommended.
The high-capacity, low-latency fibre optic cable backed by Google and Facebook would “encourage” US communications crossing the Pacific Ocean to land in Hong Kong before continuing on to other parts of Asia, the DoJ reasoned.
The recommendation to the FCC contended that the cable network’s “proposed Hong Kong landing station would expose US communications traffic to collection” by Beijing.
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The concerns have been heightened by the Chinese government’s “recent actions to remove Hong Kong’s autonomy and allow for the possibility that [Beijing’s] intelligence and security services will operate openly in Hong Kong,” the DoJ said in a release.