US bans Chinese telecom devices, citing ‘national security’ - Al Jazeera English

US Federal Communications Commission determination includes devices from Huawei, ZTE and different manufacturers.

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance instrumentality from salient Chinese brands, including Huawei and ZTE, citing an “unacceptable hazard to nationalist security”.

The five-member FCC said connected Friday it had voted unanimously to follow caller rules that volition artifact the importation oregon merchantability of the targeted products.

“Our unanimous determination represents the archetypal clip successful the FCC’s past that we person voted to prohibit the authorization of communications and physics instrumentality based connected nationalist information considerations,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said successful a connection connected Friday.

He added that the determination had “broad, bipartisan backing” among the US legislature leadership.

US security officials person warned that instrumentality from Chinese brands specified arsenic Huawei could beryllium utilized to interfere with fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and cod delicate information.

The prohibition is the latest determination successful a years-long propulsion “to support US networks secure” by identifying and prohibiting devices deemed to beryllium information threats, the FCC said.

Friday’s inaugural besides includes a prohibition connected Hytera Communications, the Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company and the Dahua Technology Company.

Huawei declined to supply remark to the Reuters quality agency. ZTE, Dahua, Hikvision and Hytera did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

Huawei and the Chinese authorities person agelong denied allegations of espionage and denounced US sanctions against Chinese technologies.

But successful 2019, then-US President Donald Trump signed into instrumentality the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which established criteria to place communications services Washington deemed could airs a hazard to nationalist security.

The services that were designated threats nether that instrumentality were past taxable to the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, signed by President Joe Biden.

That enactment created the groundwork for Friday’s announcement. It directed the FCC to “adopt rules clarifying that it volition nary longer reappraisal oregon contented caller instrumentality licenses” to those companies.

At the time, Florida Senator Marco Rubio hailed Biden’s decision.

“The Chinese Communist Party volition halt astatine thing to exploit our laws and undermine our nationalist security,” helium said successful a statement. “This authorities fixes a unsafe loophole successful our law, curtailing their efforts to worm their mode into our telecommunications networks.”

One of the largest manufacturers of telecommunications instrumentality successful the world, Huawei has had an embattled narration with the US and its allies, facing immoderate of the heaviest sanctions ever placed connected a azygous institution successful the US.

Huawei enforcement Meng Wanzhou was arrested and detained for astir 3 years successful Canada pursuing allegations by the US Justice Department that she attempted to interruption sanctions by trying to behaviour concern dealings with Iran.

She was indicted connected slope and ligament fraud charges and faced US extradition proceedings successful a Canadian court, sparking a diplomatic situation betwixt Canada, the US and China. Meng was released and returned to China successful 2021.

Earlier this year, Canada joined the US successful banning Huawei from 5G wireless networks.

Another FCC commissioner, Geoffrey Starks, described Friday’s prohibition arsenic a preventive measurement that would wage dividends successful the future.

“By stopping instrumentality identified arsenic a menace to the United States from entering our markets, we importantly alteration the hazard that it tin beryllium utilized against us,” Starks said successful a statement. “We besides little the anticipation that we’ll request to rip and regenerate that instrumentality successful the future. Ultimately, if it can’t get authorized, it can’t beryllium deployed.”

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies