The United States (US) 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 that it will vote on November 19 on a proposal to ban China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom and other Internet Protocol address-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, will be strengthening our first line of defense against bad actors and illegal robocallers,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement.
China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it firmly opposes the likely US ban and accused Washington of overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress Chinese enterprises.
“China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a daily press conference.
–Reuters–
