The U.S. Federal Communications Commission plans to adopt rules that would bar companies from connecting submarine communication cables to the United States if the systems contain Chinese technology or equipment, according to statements released on 16 July. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the measure is intended to shield critical infrastructure from “foreign adversary ownership, access and cyber or physical threats.” The draft rules would prohibit the use of equipment from firms already on the FCC’s national-security threat list, including Huawei, ZTE, China Telecom and China Mobile. Licence applications linked to foreign adversaries would face a presumption of denial, while capacity-leasing agreements with such entities would be restricted. The proposal also imposes new cyber- and physical-security standards for cable operators and streamlines the agency’s decades-old review process. U.S. regulators cite rising concerns over espionage and sabotage targeting the more than 400 subsea cables that carry about 99% of international internet traffic. Recent incidents include the cutting of cables in the Baltic Sea and near Taiwan, and the FCC has already helped cancel four projects that would have connected the United States with Hong Kong since 2020. The three-member commission is scheduled to vote on the package at its 7 August meeting and will solicit public comment on additional safeguards. The initiative extends Washington’s broader campaign to limit Chinese involvement in U.S. telecommunications networks and could reshape future investment decisions by global cable consortia and equipment suppliers.