The Federal Communications Commission banned China Unicom Americas from the U.S. market, labeling the Chinese military-linked company as a national security threat even as it is set to be the telecommunications provider at the Winter Olympics.
The FCC announced Thursday that it was revoking the ability of China Unicom to provide telecom services in the United States, concluding the company had “failed to dispel serious concerns” about its operations and assessing that China Unicom “is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government.” The Chinese government’s influence over the company raised “significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities for China Unicom Americas, its parent entities, and the Chinese government to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute U.S. communications, which in turn allow them to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the United States.”
