FCC Bar on China Telecom Operation of Transmission Lines Upheld

The FCC acted reasonably when it barred China Telecom Corp. from operating transmission lines under the Communications Act due to reliable claims of escalating Chinese cyber threats.

The record supports the commission’s findings that China Telecom poses a national security risk due to the Chinese government’s control over the company, and its ability to conduct cyberattacks against the US, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in an opinion by Judge Harry T. Edwards.

“Substantial evidence in the record supports the commission’s conclusion that China Telecom’s operations give it the capability to access, monitor, store, disrupt, and ...