On Friday, June 27, the United States House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders from both parties wrote to the Department of Commerce requesting an investigation into whether the devices sold by Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus in the United States pose security risks.
Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, John Moolenaar, and the committee’s chief Democratic representative, Raja Krishnamoorthi, pointed out that several major retailers in the United States are selling OnePlus devices, which can be used on two wireless networks in the U.S.
These two lawmakers stated that the committee recently received an analysis from a commercial company indicating that OnePlus phones may collect customer information and transmit it to other regions. The sensitive personal information of U.S. users may be transmitted to servers within the jurisdiction of the CCP without their consent, endangering national security.
OnePlus is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment. The U.S. Department of Commerce has also not issued any comments.
The Select Committee on the CCP noted that U.S. retailers BestBuy and Amazon are selling OnePlus phones, which can be used on U.S. telecommunications networks such as Verizon and T-Mobile.
The two lawmakers have requested the Department of Commerce to investigate OnePlus phones through the Information and Communication Technology and Services Program (ICTS Program), including clarifying whether user data has been collected without consent, what types of data have been collected, and whether it involves the transmission of sensitive personal information and screen captures.
In recent years, Washington has strengthened its oversight of Chinese telecommunications companies and, citing national security concerns, revoked operating licenses for companies like China Telecom in the U.S.
In November 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned the sale of new telecommunications and monitoring equipment from companies like Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua, and others in the U.S.