FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) EXPANDS LIST OF COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES THAT POSE A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added equipment and services from three entities – AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and China Mobile International USA Inc. – to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security, consistent with requirements in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.

Last year, for the first time, the FCC published a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security. The present action is the latest in the FCC’s ongoing efforts, as part of the greater whole-of-government approach, to strengthen America’s communications networks against national security threats, including examining the foreign ownership of telecommunications companies providing service in the United States and revoking the authorization to operate where necessary.

The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act requires the Commission to publish and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons. The FCC published the initial list, commonly referred to as the covered list, in March 2021, and will continue to update the list as other communications equipment and services meet the criteria under the law.

Covered Equipment or Services are as follows:

1) Telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 12, 2021);

2) Telecommunications equipment produced or provided by ZTE Corporation, including telecommunications or video surveillance services provided or provided by such entity or using such equipment (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 12, 2021);

3) Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Hytera Communications Corporation, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 12, 2021);

4) Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 12, 2021);

5) Video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced or provided by Dahua Technology Company, to the extent it is used for the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, including telecommunications or video surveillance services produced or provided by such entity or using such equipment (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 12, 2021);

6) Information security products, solutions, and services supplied, directly or indirectly, by AO Kaspersky Lab or any of its predecessors, successors, parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 25, 2022);

7) International telecommunications services provided by China Mobile International USA Inc. subject to section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 25, 2022);

8) Telecommunications services provided by China Telecom (Americas) Corp. subject to section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Date of Inclusion on Covered List: March 25, 2022).

Source: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-expands-list-equipment-and-services-pose-security-threat