Lawmakers want US tech CEOs to address concerns about submarine cables

Three Republican House lawmakers on Monday asked the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook-parent Meta, Amazon.com and Microsoft if the tech firms have adopted adequate safeguards to address growing concerns about China and Russia on submarine communications cables.

Washington has been raising alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic. The letter signed by Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs a House panel on China and two other Republicans, raised concerns that entities affiliated with China “such as SBSS, Huawei Marine, China Telecom, and China Unicom, have continued to provide maintenance or servicing to cable systems in which your companies maintain direct or indirect operational involvement or ownership.”