OPINION:
Foreign-owned companies operating as major American brands are common. Take Trader Joe’s, 7-Eleven or Gerber. Even Verizon, where I worked from 2003 to 2012, had foreign ownership for a time.
Few Americans give a second thought to their corporate parents’ nationality.
Far less common, however, is when the foreign owner has access to the data of nearly 150 million Americans, pursues partnerships with the world’s highest-risk adversary and promotes policies that run counter to U.S. interests. That’s when foreign ownership veers sharply toward security risk.
That’s exactly what is happening with Deutsche Telekom, the German government-backed telecommunications giant that operates stateside as T-Mobile, America’s second-largest wireless carrier. Today, Deutsche Telekom is using its expansive influence throughout Europe and the United States to undermine America’s economic and national security priorities.
The company has become a prominent corporate supporter of Europe’s “digital sovereignty” campaign, which consists of regulations specifically designed to pressure American platforms to police speech, impose regulatory costs and ultimately weaken U.S. technology companies that underpin America’s economic security.
The European Union’s proposed expansion of the controversial Digital Networks Act is the latest example of backsliding on the U.S.-EU trade framework agreed to this fall. Despite agreeing not to pursue network usage fees, European regulators are in fact attempting to revive and expand them. Deutsche Telekom has been among the most vocal advocates of this campaign.
Meanwhile, in Washington, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom spent more than $11 million last year lobbying for U.S. telecom policies that preserve open-market access for foreign companies and regulatory restraint. They are working to deny American firms these protections overseas.
No other foreign carrier operating at this scale has so actively supported foreign regulatory measures targeting American firms while enjoying open treatment here.
Deutsche Telekom also has aligned itself with Chinese state-backed suppliers, raising serious security concerns. For years, the company has relied heavily on Huawei equipment throughout its European networks, despite repeated warnings that Chinese state-linked vendors pose serious risks to critical infrastructure.
Even today, roughly 59% of Germany’s 5G radio access network still runs on Huawei or ZTE gear. In the U.S., Huawei has been barred from core telecommunications networks on national security grounds.
If Europe treats American firms as regulatory targets while its own national champions operate freely here, then U.S. policymakers have a responsibility to reconsider whether that balance still serves American interests.
Trump administration officials are taking notice. Late last year, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned that the United States would use “every tool at its disposal” if the EU persisted in discriminatory measures. Last week, he reinforced that the “era of one-sided openness is over.”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has similarly cautioned his European counterparts that reciprocity is on the way. He posted on X that “it is revealing to see how strongly Europeans react when told that European businesses operating in the U.S. will be treated the same as American businesses operating in the EU.”
Mr. Carr has the authority and has signaled the will to act.
Section 310 of the Communications Act provides a straightforward tool to address risks posed by foreign ownership of communications infrastructure. Foreign ownership above 25% of a U.S. wireless licensee requires FCC approval. Those approvals are discretionary and subject to review.
Deutsche Telekom holds a 51.5% stake in T-Mobile, so if the public interest calculus shifts, the FCC has the authority to revisit the deal.
The FCC, through Section 214, also controls a carrier’s authorization to operate. In recent years, the agency has revoked licenses held by Chinese telecom companies after concluding that the companies’ foreign ties posed unacceptable risks to U.S. networks.
A similar principle applies here: If a foreign parent company’s regulatory agenda abroad threatens the integrity or security of American communications systems, then the FCC has every right to examine whether that authorization continues to serve the public interest.
Federal subsidies provide another point of leverage. Through the Universal Service Fund, the FCC distributes billions of dollars to support nationwide telecommunications access. In 2019, the agency barred the use of those funds to purchase equipment or services from companies deemed a national security threat, including Huawei.
If Deutsche Telekom’s continued reliance on high-risk vendors abroad, or its alignment with foreign regulatory regimes meant to diminish U.S. economic security, calls into question its standing under the public interest standard, then the FCC could limit access to federal support. The United States does not owe permanent deference to foreign carriers whose conduct undermines American interests.
With key officials such as Messrs. Greer and Carr signaling support for reciprocity, our European friends would be wise to recalibrate their approach. If they don’t, then the Trump administration will likely follow through on its promise to address imbalances that affect America’s economic and national security.
• John Czwartacki is a co-founder and principal at Public Policy Solutions and a former executive director of external communications for Verizon.
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