包括司法部和国土安全部在内的几个联邦机构周四呼吁联邦通信委员会撤销中国电信在美国提供服务的授权。
六个行政部门——司法部、国土安全部、国防部、国务院和商务部，以及美国贸易代表——一致建议阻止中国国有电信公司提供涉及美国的国际服务。
“今天，国家和人民的生活比以往任何时候都在我们的电信网络上运行，”负责国家安全的助理司法部长约翰·德默斯在一份新闻稿中说。“我们政府和专业通信的安全，以及我们最隐私的数据的安全，取决于我们对来自与我们有着共同价值观和对人类的渴望的国家的可信赖的合作伙伴的使用。今天的行动只是我们确保美国电信系统完整性的下一步。”
这些机构称，与中国电信的关系危及国家安全和执法。该建议称，中国电信对公众和美国政府的表述都不准确。根据该报告，这些机构担心中华人民共和国在针对美国的恶意网络活动中扮演的角色，以及中国电信容易受到中国政府的利用、影响和控制
它还表示，中国电信向美国政府提供了有关其记录存储位置的错误信息，“引发了谁有权访问这些记录的问题。”
宣布该报告的新闻稿还称，中国电信没有遵守2007年的保证书——中国电信在保证书中概述了其对DOJ、联邦调查局和DHS的承诺。但是新闻稿没有详细说明细节。
在信中，中国电信同意向美国提供所有计费记录和用户信息。该公司还同意，如果美国执法机构要求该公司提供信息，他们不会披露该要求，除非披露符合法律要求。
中国电信被指控违反与美国政府的协议。
该报告是4月4日行政命令的结果，该命令设立了美国电信服务部门外国参与评估委员会。此前，司法部、国防部和国土安全部是作为一个名为团队电信的特别委员会运作的。当涉及到外国电信公司的联邦通信委员会申请时，该委员会有监督权。
联邦通信委员会尚未对该建议做出回应。新闻周刊联系了联邦通信委员会进行评论，但是在出版前没有收到回复。
中国电信的美国子公司总部设在弗吉尼亚州的赫恩登，并在全国各地设有办事处。母公司是世界上最大的宽带运营商，拥有1.35亿用户。它还在中国70%的地区拥有并运营超过51000英里的光纤。中国电信的员工人数超过67万，在全球排名第141位命运2018年杂志全球500强。
FCC SHOULD BAN CHINA TELECOM OVER NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT-LED REVIEW SAYS
Several federal agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, on Thursday have called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke China Telecom's authorization to provide service in the United States.
Six executive branch agencies—the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, State and Commerce, along with the United States Trade Representative—unanimously recommended that the Chinese state-owned telecommunications company be blocked from providing international services involving the United States.
"Today, more than ever, the life of the nation and its people runs on our telecommunications networks," said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security said in a press release. "The security of our government and professional communications, as well as of our most private data, depends on our use of trusted partners from nations that share our values and our aspirations for humanity. Today's action is but our next step in ensuring the integrity of America's telecommunications systems."
The relationship with China Telecom endangers national security and law enforcement, according to the agencies. The recommendation alleges that China Telecom inaccurately represented itself to both the public as well as the U.S. government. According to the report, the agencies are concerned about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) "role in malicious cyber activity targeting the United States" and that "China Telecom is vulnerable to exploitation, influence and control by the PRC government."
It also says China Telecom gave wrong information to the U.S. government about where its records were stored, "raising questions about who has access to those records."
The press release announcing the report also says China Telecom did not comply with a 2007 Letter of Assurance—a letter where China Telecom's outlined their commitments to the DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the DHS. But the press release did not detail the specifics.
In the letter, China Telecom agreed to make all billing records and subscriber information available to the U.S. The company also agreed that if U.S. law enforcement agencies request information from the company, they will not disclose the request, unless that disclosure is in accordance with legal requirements.
China Telecom is accused of violating agreements with the United States government.
The report was the result of an April 4 executive order that established the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector. Previously, the Departments of Justice, Defense and Homeland Security were operating as an ad hoc committee called Team Telecom. The committee has oversight when it comes to FCC applications from foreign telecommunications companies.
The FCC has not yet responded to the recommendation. Newsweek reached out to the FCC for comment, but had not heard back by publication time.
The U.S. subsidiary of China Telecom is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, and has offices across the country. The parent organization is the largest broadband operator in the world, boasting 135 million subscribers. It also owns and operates more than 51,000 miles of optical fiber across 70 percent of China. Over 670,000 people are employed by China Telecom, which ranked No. 141 on Fortune magazine's Global 500 list in 2018.
