President Biden signs Secure Equipment Act; ends Huawei’s exploitation

President Biden has signed the Secure Equipment Act that stops blacklisted companies from receiving new telecoms equipment licenses.

The Secure Equipment Act instructs the FCC not to review applications from companies ruled to be a security threat. At least 5 Chinese state-controlled companies, infamous for their espionage, can no longer be used in US telecoms networks.

The Secure Equipment Act was unanimously passed by the Senate on October 28. It received 420 votes in the House, with only four Representatives voting against it.

To protect US telecommunications, the FCC had designated 5 infamous Chinese companies as a national security threat in March.

Huawei, Hangzhou Hikvision, ZTE, Hytera Communications, and Zhejiang Dahua were named in March.

According to the 2019 law cited by the FCC, the designated companies could still get applications approved in order to get equipment used in US telecoms networks.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has acknowledged that Huawei had a whopping 3,000 applications approved since 2018.

The Secure Equipment Act will ensure companies like Huawei would no longer be able to exploit legal loopholes.

The FCC has also proposed a new set of rules that would allow it to revoke licenses that have already been granted. Just last month, the FCC revoked the license of one of China’s biggest telecoms provider, China Telecom, over security concerns.

The newly proposed rules by the FCC will put an end to Chinese espionage attempts through its cheap equipment made with stolen ideas and tech.