Tech giants seek Hong Kong alternative after U.S. blocks under-sea cable

U.S. tech giants including Alphabet Inc's Google are considering alternatives to Hong Kong as a global data hub after U.S. officials upended plans for a trans-pacific internet link to the territory, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-giants-seek-hong-kong-alternative-after-u-s-blocks-data-cable-11581100520?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 on Friday citing people familiar with the matter. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice had signaled staunch opposition to the project because of concerns over its Chinese investor, Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group Co, and the direct link that the cable would provide to Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal had reported in August. Subsea cables form the backbone of the internet by carrying 99% of the world's data traffic.