The Federal Communications Commission will vote on November 19 to restrict Chinese telecom entities from directly acquiring numbers used for VoIP services. The proposed rules also prohibit internet-protocol providers from deploying equipment manufactured by blacklisted vendors like Huawei and ZTE. Additionally, the initiative contemplates blocking these foreign operators from maintaining data centers on American soil. These regulatory actions follow recent breaches where the Chinese cyber espionage group Salt Typhoon exfiltrated sensitive call records.
Key points
Regulators aim to dismantle infrastructure channels that enable cheap Voice over Internet…: Regulators aim to dismantle infrastructure channels that enable cheap Voice over Internet Protocol services to facilitate unlawful robocalls.
Prohibitions may expand to prevent restricted telecom companies from running domestic dat…: Prohibitions may expand to prevent restricted telecom companies from running domestic data centers or interconnecting with local networks.
Service providers relying on internet-protocol technology face strict bans against integr…: Service providers relying on internet-protocol technology face strict bans against integrating hardware manufactured by risky firms such as Huawei or ZTE.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
WASHINGTON: The United States plans to soon ban Chinese telecom firms from direct access to US phone numbers on national security grounds - a measure designed to prevent scam-related robocalls.
The US Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday (Oct 29) that it will vote on Nov 19 on a proposal to ban China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom and other IP-enabled service providers from direct access.
For telecom firms providing Voice over Internet Protocol - technology that converts voice into digital data and transmits it over broadband connections - direct access is a much cheaper option and makes it easier to offer advanced features.
"With this decision, the FCC will be strengthening our first line of defence against bad actors and illegal robocallers," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy did not immediately comment.
The FCC also said on Thursday that it plans to bar IP-enabled service providers that use equipment from companies on the FCC's list that pose national security risks, including Huawei or ZTE.
Trade unions and investigative journalists have uncovered systemic mistreatment tied to the rapid expansion of more than 2,300 digital facilities across the continent. Migrant laborers fueling this digital infrastructure boom face severe physical perils, squalid accommodations, and financial abuse without sufficient corporate accountability. These findings expose a stark divide between the tech sector's high-tech ambitions and the hazardous, unregulated conditions endured by its frontline construction workforce.
Blockchain analysis firm TRM has attributed a cryptocurrency theft targeting Binance to North Korea. The attribution links the nation to the incident, according to reporting from Reuters. No further details regarding the scope of the theft or the specific methods used were disclosed.
Justice was delivered for defrauded account holders after judicial authorities rejected the postal service's attempt to shift blame onto victims for internal administrative lapses. The ruling establishes that public trust must be protected when customers interact with staff operating inside state-run branch premises. Consequently, officials must now disburse financial restitution directly to those misled by fraudulent workers.