In a bid to protect the privacy of the U.S. citizens’ personal data and information, the companies have expressed their consent to restrict access to equipment and information for Hong Kong-based Pacific Light Data Communication Co.
December 30, 2021
U.S. security officials have expressed approval for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and Facebook’s parent company – Meta Platforms Inc. for an undersea fibre optic cable that will connect the U.S. to Taiwan and the Philippines.
Speaking on the development, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said, “These agreements enable Google and Meta to take advantage of critical, additional cable capacity while protecting US persons’ privacy and security through terms that reflect the current threat environment.”
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As published in a news report – it was in 2017 that the Companies came up with the plan for the Pacific Light Cable Network project including all three trans-Pacific regions. Then, in 2020, American security agencies inquired the FCC to deny the link to Hong Kong, owing to the apprehension that it would give China access to American citizens’ personal data. The agencies called Pacific Light Data a subsidiary of mainland China’s Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co.
In fact, the idea of data-sharing restrictions further reflects the Chinese government’s “sustained efforts to acquire the sensitive personal data of millions of U.S. persons,” the Justice Department said in its statement. It also explained the Chinese government’s access to other countries’ data through digital infrastructure investments, and recent intelligence and cybersecurity laws.
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The companies’ agreements were made with the departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security in their roles as members of the committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications and Services Sector, known informally as Team Telecom.
