Americans have come to understand the national security threat posed by China-based telecom companies but they might be surprised to learn that equipment from these telecom firms continue to be used in U.S. networks, according to Brendan Carr, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) commissioner. The FCC last year banned carriers in the United States from using an $8.3 billion federal fund to purchase equipment from China-based telecom companies Huawei and ZTE after deeming them to be national security threats. However, carriers are allowed to buy and use the exact same equipment as long as they use private funds. “To me, that is a glaring loophole that makes no sense,” Carr said in a recent interview with The Epoch Times’s American Thought Leaders program. The commissioner highlighted the espionage risk posed by China-based technology firms. “Under China law, these companies basically have to fork over any information or data that the communist …