National Security Concerns Threaten Undersea Cable to China, Wall Street Journal Reports

U.S. officials are seeking to block an undersea cable between Los Angeles and Hong Kong that is being backed by Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook Inc and a Chinese partner on national security grounds, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The Justice Department has signaled staunch opposition to the project because of concerns over its Chinese investor, Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co, and the direct link that the cable would provide to Hong Kong, the WSJ reported, citing people involved in the discussion. The Justice Department, Google, Facebook and Peng did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.Subsea cables form the backbone of the internet by carrying 99 percent of the world’s data traffic.
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