In an exclusive interview, outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai warned that potential spying by the Chinese Communist Party and threats to U.S. telecommunications networks and Internet freedoms will be the biggest national security issue facing U.S. regulators in the next four years, Reuters reported.
He noted that there are concerns about the “broad range” of Chinese Communist Party activities, including surveillance, economic espionage, and the potential to plant malware on networks in the United States or around the world, leading to potentially serious consequences when unsecured devices are used to handle sensitive information.
In particular, Pai emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party has a very strong world view and wants to dominate Internet space and impose its will – even beyond its borders. This poses a serious threat not only to Internet freedom, but also to the national security of the United States and many of its allies.
As of today, the FCC has revoked the authorization of China Telecom, China’s largest telecommunications company, to operate in the United States out of concern that the Chinese Communist Party is using network equipment for espionage; network equipment made by huawei, ZTE and others has been banned from federal telecommunications equipment procurement. The U.S. Congress also approved a special appropriation late last year to cover the cost of replacing Chinese equipment in U.S. communications networks.
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