Senate Panel Seeks Scrutiny of China Telecom Companies After It Sees Lax US Oversight

An influential Senate panel is calling for stricter oversight of Chinese telecommunications companies operating in the US after an investigation found years of weak supervision by regulators threatens national security. In a forthcoming report, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will level sharp criticism at a group of telecom regulators for failing to scrutinize the Chinese companies and the way they handle data going back nearly two decades. Senate investigators said that without proper oversight the Chinese companies “present an unacceptable amount of risk.” The group of regulators—which is composed of national security officials from several agencies—is known as Team Telecom and is charged with maintaining the integrity of telecommunications infrastructure. Members of the group said they are aware of the panel’s findings that, they said, support efforts already under way to overhaul oversight of the Chinese businesses.