The Press Stories
Facebook has suspended plans to build a “data cable” in the Pacific Ocean that connects California to Hong Kong due to tensions between the United States and China.
A Facebook spokesperson told the French Press that “because of the current concern of the US government over direct links between the US and Hong Kong, we have decided to withdraw the request we submitted to the US Federal Communications Commission.”
He added that Facebook “expects to work with all parties to restructure an organization in line with the concerns of the US government.”
The social networking site Facebook, along with several telecommunications companies, has reportedly submitted its first license application in 2018 to extend the submarine cable to connect the two sites in California with Hong Kong and Taiwan.
This program facilitates communication via optical fibers capable of transmitting large amounts of data in a very short period of time.
But as Beijing tightened its grip on Hong Kong, Washington opposed issues related to China’s national security.
In June, the U.S. Justice Department recommended that Facebook and Google boycott the proposed Trans-Pacific cable Hong Kong.
Called the “Pacific Light Cable Network”, the cable will connect the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
“The Hong Kong station reveals US transportation to Beijing, and it helps to collect data,” the ministry warned.
In April 2020, the Federal Communications Commission granted Google permission to operate the North American-Taiwan cable.
