FCC Declares Huawei, ZTE ‘National Security Threats’

The Federal Communication Commission has officially declared Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE “national security threats,” meaning the companies will no longer have access to federal funds to buy and install their equipment.

TechCrunch reports that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had officially declared the Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE to be “national security threats.” This move by the FCC guarantees that the telecoms companies are unable to use federal funds to buy and install telecoms equipment in the United States.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai stated that the “weight of evidence” supported the decision. An argument has been made for some time by federal agencies and lawmakers that due to the tech giants being subject to Chinese law, they could be forced to “cooperate with the country’s intelligence services,” Pai said.

The Republican-majority FCC said in a separate statement: “We cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit network vulnerabilities and compromise our critical communications infrastructure.” The FCC stated that the designation takes immediate effect but it’s not clear yet how the designation will change day-to-day operations for the companies.

The FCC announced in November of 2019 that the companies that were deemed a national security threat would not be eligible to receive any money from the Universal Service Fund, an $8.5 billion fund which is the FCC’s main method of purchasing and subsidizing equipment and services to improve connectivity across the United States.

FCC commissioner Geoffrey Starks, a Democrat, said in a public statement: “The Commission has taken important steps toward identifying the problematic equipment in our systems, but there is much more to do. Funding is the missing piece. Congress recognized in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act that many carriers will need support to transition away from untrustworthy equipment, but it still has not appropriated funding for replacements.”

Read more at TechCrunch here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com