FCC failed to monitor Chinese telecoms for almost 20 years: Senate report

Enlarge / The flag of China. (credit: Getty Images | Nijat Abdullayev | EyeEm)

The Federal Communications Commission and other US agencies have failed to properly oversee Chinese telecom companies that operate in the United States, according to a bipartisan Senate report released today.

After a year-long investigation, the staff report by the US Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations "found that the FCC and 'Team Telecom'-an informal group comprised of officials from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense-have failed to monitor these three Chinese government-owned carriers," a joint announcement by the subcommittee's Republican and Democratic leaders said. The three carriers the subcommittee referred to are China Telecom Americas (CTA), China Unicom Americas (CUA), and ComNet USA. The companies "operated in the US for nearly 20 Years with little to no oversight from the federal government," the senators' announcement said.

"The Chinese government engages in cyber and economic espionage efforts against the United States and may use telecommunications carriers operating in the United States to further these efforts," the report said.

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