A submerged information link, connecting the US to Hong Kong, looks set to be dismissed by the US government because of fears of Chinese data theft.
The Pacific Light Cable Network, upheld by Google and Facebook, is designed to boost internet speed and capacity.
In any case, a US government board of trustees known as “Team Telecom” has now recommended that the US denies it approval.
The choice is another indication of the developing strain between the US and China, who are in a trade war.
It would reportedly be the first such cable dismissed by the US on national security grounds.
What is the Pacific Light Cable Network?
Around the globe, there are many undersea links giving web network.
The new link was reported in 2016 as an organization between Google, Facebook, and other companies.
Google said the link would be 12,800 km long (8,000 miles) and would be the “highest-capacity trans-Pacific route”.
“At the end of the day, [the cable] will give enough ability to Hong Kong to have 80 million simultaneous HD video telephone calls with Los Angeles,” the company said.
The task would likewise have divides interfacing the US with Taiwan and the Philippines.
The link has been laid, apparently at an expense of “a large number of dollars”, but needs approval to operate.
One of the organizations working with Facebook and Google is the Dr. Peng group, a Chinese broadband giant.
What Did Team Telecom Say?
The board has suggested endorsement for the Taiwan and Philippines sections.
Be that as it may, on Wednesday, it prescribed the US to Hong Kong area was denied “on national security grounds”.
Their reasons included:
- China’s “sustained efforts to acquire the sensitive personal data of millions of US persons”
- China’s “access to other countries’ data through both digital infrastructure investments”
- The Dr. Peng Group’s “relationship with Chinese insight and security administrations, and its commitments under Chinese knowledge and cyber security laws”
- China’s “ongoing activities to evacuate Hong Kong’s independence and take into consideration the likelihood that Chinese intelligence and security services will work openly in Hong Kong”
An official choice will be taken by the US Federal Communications Commission.
What Is The Background?
After President Trump got to work, the US forced billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on Chinese goods, with China fighting back.
Mr. Trump had long accused China of unfair trading and intellectual property theft.
The US has likewise focused on Chinese innovation firm Huawei, calling it a national security threat, and is taking a more forceful position on Hong Kong.
China is attempting to present a security law in Hong Kong, which is an exceptional managerial locale of China. However, the US, and others, say the law would threaten the city’s autonomy.
Mr. Trump said he would evacuate Hong Kong’s special status in US law.
“China has supplanted one nation, two frameworks, with one nation, one framework,” he said in May.
This news is originally posted on bbc.com