Huawei has been all over the news recently. Huawei is a very large Chinese telecommunications company, which provides network infrastructure to a great deal of Europe and Asia, and to rural regions of the U.S. If you’ve been wondering what all of the current fuss is about, here is the situation in a nutshell: Huawei has been accused of working directly with the Chinese government (to assist with the creation of surveillance states), of attempting to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran, and of allegedly stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile. As a result, things here in the U.S. have gotten messy, especially considering the U.S.-China trade war now underway. Not to mention the fact that Huawei is also a large provider of 5G infrastructure–and 5G is something the U.S. desperately wants to roll out quickly.
In retaliation for these alleged actions, the Trump administration declared a national emergency and has banned suppliers nationwide from selling components to Huawei. In another huge blow, Google has revoked access to many Android apps from Huawei phones. Despite the significant size of the company, analysts wonder if things from Huawei will get any better, or if it’s a sinking ship.
- Huawei could be the first big casualty of China’s clash with America [CNN Business] “Those phones may also be cut off from Google services. That means third-party apps like ride-hailing and food delivery platforms that rely on Google Maps won’t work on a Huawei phone, which would make for a terrible user experience, Ma said. “
- Why Trump’s Huawei ban could cripple the company [Mashable] “Some kind of trade agreement between the U.S. and China seem to be the only foreseeable resolution. If one isn’t reached, Trump’s ban and the severing of partnerships from its many hardware and software partners could cripple Huawei for years to come and potentially force it to change its operations. Perhaps by designing and building all of its own hardware and software instead of relying on others, but that would take years and set it back for just as many. “
- Huawei can keep sending software updates to phones for three months, US says [The Verge] “The license, effective today, allows Huawei to take action ‘necessary to provide service and support, including software updates or patches, to existing Huawei handsets that were available to the public on or before May 16, 2019.’ The license will also allow Huawei to maintain its existing network equipment, and to receive security vulnerability disclosures. “
- After the US took down Huawei, could DJI be next? [The Verge] “The US Department of Homeland Security has warned of the dangers of Chinese-made drones, according to an alert obtained by CNN. The alert cautions that consumer-level drones, of which the vast majority in North America are sold by Shenzhen-based DJI, could send back sensitive flight information to headquarters on Chinese soil that could subsequently be accessed by the government. “
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Huawei Charges Cast Shadow on Latest Round of U.S.-China Trade Talks ( Wilhelm, B. (2019). Huawei Charges Cast Shadow on Latest Round of U.S.-China Trade Talks. World Politics Review (Selective Content), 1 )
- Huawei “back doors”? Beijing may not need Huawei ‘back doors’ Expert says National Security Agency never found Huawei back doors created for Chinese intelligence ( Chen, F. (2019). Huawei “back doors”? Beijing may not need Huawei ‘back doors’ Expert says National Security Agency never found Huawei back doors created for Chinese intelligence. Chinese American Forum, 34(4), 1. )
- Huawei rides security concerns ( Thomas, D. (2019). Huawei rides security concerns. African Business, (461), 26–30 )
