US tech companies, Google and Facebook, have removed Hong Kong from an undersea web cable project that was launched in 2017. The decision is as a result of the growing distrust of China by the US government.

The cable project called the Pacific Light Cable Network is the product of a partnership among Google, Facebook, and other tech companies. The project is expected to boost internet connectivity speeds and capacity between North America and Asia by developing a 13,900km undersea cable.

The cables were supposed to have landing points in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. But on June 17, the US Justice Department asked the Federal Communications Commission to deny approval for the landing points in Hong Kong. The department said that the link would give the Chinese government a means of acquiring the personal data of Americans and therefore is a matter of national security.

Read more.. https://technext.ng/2020/09/01/facebook-and-google-disconnect-hong-kong-from-high-speed-internet-project-after-us-agencies-raise-security-alarm/