US Launches New Investigation Against Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, and Other Chinese Companies

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a new investigation into several Chinese telecommunications companies, including Huawei and China Telecom, suspecting them of circumventing restrictions on operating in the US.

Image source: Olivier Hoslet/Epa-Efe/Shutterstock

The FCC said in a statement that it had launched a “broad-based investigation” into Chinese companies that, in addition to those mentioned earlier, include telecoms giant ZTE and the world’s largest maker of surveillance cameras, Hikvision. In addition, the regulator will examine the activities of China Mobile International USA, as well as the American units of China Telecom and China Unicom.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said some Chinese telecom companies may be ignoring past U.S. efforts to combat national security threats from China. The regulator has previously revoked several U.S. permits and placed a number of companies on a “black list” of businesses whose products the government cannot buy for security reasons.

«”We have reason to believe that, despite the actions taken, some or all of the entities on this list are attempting to circumvent FCC restrictions by continuing to do business in America on a private or ‘unregulated’ basis. We are not going to turn a blind eye to this,” Carr said.

Carr, who was recently appointed FCC chairman by US President Donald Trump, said the regulator intends to determine the extent of the listed companies’ activities in the US and “move quickly to close any loopholes that allow untrustworthy foreign actors to circumvent our rules.”

The FCC has sent requests to Chinese companies to provide information about their activities in the country, and one company on the FCC list has already received a subpoena. Carr said the probe would be the first major effort by the National Security Council he created to sharpen the agency’s focus on potential telecommunications and cyber threats from hostile countries, especially China.