By Juan Pedro Tomás

FCC said that equipment and services provided by these three firms pose a threat to national security in the US.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added equipment and services from Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, and Chinese operators China Telecom (Americas), and China Mobile International USA to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security.

“Last year, for the first time, the FCC published a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security, and we have been working closely with our national security partners to review and update this list,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “This 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.  Our work in this area continues.” Rosenworcel added.

The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act requires the FCC 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 US persons.  The FCC published the initial list, commonly referred to as the “covered list”, in March 2021.

The Bureau said it has identified three determinations, one from the Department of Homeland Security and two from a group of government agencies that assists the FCC in review of foreign participation in US telecom services (informally known as Team Telecom) that meet the statutory requirements for additions to the Covered List.

First, a Binding Operational Directive (BOD), issued by the Department of Homeland Security and published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2017, required some federal agencies to remove Kaspersky-branded products from federal information systems. The BOD states that, in consultation with interagency partners, the Department of Homeland Security “determined that the risks presented by Kaspersky-branded products justify the issuance of this Binding Operational Directive.” 

“Based on the required actions by federal agencies in response to the threats identified in the BOD, we interpret the BOD to be a finding from the Department of Homeland Security that Kaspersky-branded products pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States,” FCC said. 

Second, Team Telecom found that China Telecom (Americas) and China Telecom’s operations as a carrier in the United States pose “substantial and unacceptable” risks to US national security and law enforcement concerns.  “Based on Team Telecom’s finding that China Telecom’s services associated with its section 214 authorizations pose substantial and unacceptable risks to US national security, we find that Team Telecom also determined that those services are capable of otherwise posing an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and its people,” the agency said.

Third, the FCC said, its Team Telecom found that services associated with China Mobile International USA’s application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under section 214 of the Communications Act raised “substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks in the current national security environment.”   Based on Team Telecom’s finding that China Mobile’s services associated with its application for section 214 services posed substantial and unacceptable risks to US national security, FCC found that Team Telecom also determined that the services that China Mobile’s application sought authority to provide could pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and its people.