Highlighting the dire threat posed by Chinese companies to US national security, Senator Tom Cotton accused the Chinese tech giant Huawei of attempting to dominate 5G technology and stealing Americans' data.
"We cannot allow Huawei and the Chinese Communist Party to have access to Americans' personal data and our country's most sensitive defence systems. We must address the dire threat these Chinese companies pose to our national security," Cotton said in a statement.
He made these remarks on Tuesday as a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill titled "NETWORKS Act" to sanction China's Huawei Technologies and Chinese 5G companies.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) introduced a bill with Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Rick Scott (R-Florida) to severely sanction Chinese technology company Huawei and other untrustworthy Chinese 5G producers who engage in economic espionage against the United States.
"Foreign companies that spy on the U.S. and violate our laws should face severe consequences. Huawei is a repeat offender. This bipartisan bill will bolster our national defences by further sanctioning Huawei and other similar bad actors seeking to undermine our security," said Van Hollen.
This bill would add these entities to the US Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, which would effectively freeze them from accessing the U.S. financial system. Congressman Mike Gallagher (WI-08) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In October, the Department of Justice charged two Chinese intelligence officials for collaborating with Huawei to obstruct the federal government's investigation of the company.
The FBI also recently revealed that Huawei gear was found in cell towers near several U.S. nuclear missile bases and that signals from these towers could interfere with the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Scott said that he is proud to introduce the NETWORKS Act which will implement strict sanctions on companies like Huawei that spy on Americans and put our national security at risk.
"I've been very clear about the threat we face from technology companies controlled by Communist China and other enemies that are known for espionage and theft of American technology," the US lawmaker added.
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( With inputs from ANI )
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