FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on the new rules that would prohibit the use of Chinese technology in submarine cables. The proposed rules will apply to any company on the FCC’s existing list of entities that pose “unacceptable risks to U.S. national security.”
In addition to “banning the use of “cover” devices”, the new FCC rules will also limit the ability of Chinese companies to obtain licenses for cables connected to the United States. Submarine or submarine cables are a key part of the Internet infrastructure and are in the eyes of the FCC as a potential location for foreign espionage. The impact of banning or at least severely limiting Chinese companies is an attempt to benefit American cable providers while hurting the country’s perceived enemies.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the FCC took similar moves to prevent mobile operators from using Chinese equipment in the United States. Trump signed a law requiring operators to “rip and replace” old Huawei and ZTE liquid infrastructure, while the FCC provided funding to achieve that. However, the new rules surrounding submarine cables were proposed by very different committees.
Currently, there are only three commissioners on the FCC, more than the typical five commissioners. Under Carr, the commission took a more aggressive approach to regulating the telecommunications industry and violated the First Amendment. Carr threatens to investigate the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies and is committed to not approving any merger of companies that insist on retaining it.
The FCC is expected to vote on the new rules on August 7. In addition to being consistent with past FCC actions, they could also serve as a reasonable way to secure U.S. infrastructure in the broad “Salt Typhoon” and last year, affected U.S. airlines and other companies.
