U.S. Probing China Telecom, China Mobile Over Internet, Cloud Risks

The Biden administration is investigating China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom due to concerns that these firms might exploit access to American data through their US cloud and internet businesses, potentially providing it to Beijing, according to three sources familiar with the matter, Alexandra Alper and Casey Hall reported for Reuters.

Authorities have subpoenaed these state-backed companies and completed "risk-based analyses" of China Mobile and China Telecom, though they are less advanced in their probe of China Unicom. I Photo: NANSZEIQ HAZEIW 500 Wikimedia Commons

The Commerce Department is conducting the investigation, which has not been previously reported.

Authorities have subpoenaed these state-backed companies and completed "risk-based analyses" of China Mobile and China Telecom, though they are less advanced in their probe of China Unicom.

These companies still have a small presence in the US but can provide cloud services and route wholesale US internet traffic, which gives them access to Americans' data despite telecom regulators barring them from offering telephone and retail internet services in the US.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated it hopes the US will "stop suppressing Chinese companies under false pretexts."

This investigation is part of Washington's ongoing efforts to prevent Beijing from exploiting Chinese firms' access to US data for harming companies, Americans, or national security.

Regulators have not yet decided how to address the potential threat, but they have the authority to block these companies from operating data centers and routing data for internet providers in the US.