London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Huawei files US lawsuit disputing that it is a security threat

Huawei files US lawsuit disputing that it is a security threat

Chinese telecom giant challenges FCC ruling, as founder says he would welcome Biden outreach

China’s Huawei Technologies Co. filed a lawsuit in the U.S. disputing its designation as a national security threat by the Federal Communications Commission, stepping up legal challenges in the country despite a change of administration in Washington.

The lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit asked for a review of an FCC ruling last year that found the company poses a national security threat and blocked American telecommunications operators from accessing a multibillion-dollar fund to buy Huawei-made telecom gear.

The complaint is Huawei’s latest challenge to the U.S.’s numerous actions targeting it over the past several years. Former President Donald Trump’s administration blocked the company from accessing American technology and sought to persuade allies that Huawei’s telecom gear presented national security risks.

Huawei’s lawsuit said the FCC’s ruling in December exceeded its authority and was “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, and not supported by substantial evidence.”

An FCC spokeswoman said, “Last year the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a national security threat based on a substantial body of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous U.S. national security agencies. We will continue to defend that decision.”

U.S. officials have long said that Beijing could exploit Huawei telecom gear to spy or disrupt telecommunications networks, though they haven’t publicly shown evidence of any such behavior. Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, has said the company would never spy on behalf of any country.

Huawei filed its lawsuit hours before Mr. Ren told a group of journalists in China that he hoped the Biden administration would be more open to policies “that are in the interests of U.S. companies,” adding that he would welcome a phone call from the new president.

“We still hope to be able to buy a lot of U.S. components, parts and machinery so that U.S. companies can also develop with the Chinese economy,” Mr. Ren said Tuesday.

The Biden administration hasn’t clearly spelled out its approach to Huawei. During a hearing last month, President Biden’s nominee for commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, vowed to protect the U.S. against Chinese technology threats but declined to promise to maintain the Commerce Department’s blacklisting of Huawei, pending a review.

Huawei pursued a combative legal response to the Trump administration’s actions, challenging both the FCC and a U.S. law that barred the company from doing business with American contractors. A federal judge in Texas threw out the latter suit last year.

A separate challenge against the FCC filed in 2019, which also disputes the designation of Huawei as a security threat, is continuing.

The legal efforts reflect Huawei’s push to exhaust all of its options as it faces the prospect of losing what remains of its foothold in the U.S. telecommunications market. Huawei executives have long voiced frustration with Western suspicions—never publicly proven—that the company poses security risks and have challenged U.S. officials to present evidence of any espionage.

Despite worries in Washington, Huawei has long partnered with rural telecom carriers across the U.S. that have praised its prices and the dependability of its service. Company executives had hoped Huawei could build on that record to work with larger operators and pitch its smartphones to U.S. consumers.

Mr. Trump dashed those hopes as the company became a key target in his trade war with Beijing. In addition to blocking the export of U.S. technology to Huawei, the U.S. under Mr. Trump issued twin criminal indictments of the company, alleging that it stole technology and evaded sanctions on Iran. Meng Wanzhou, the company’s CFO, has been under house arrest in Canada for more than two years as she resists American officials’ efforts to extradite her to the U.S.

The U.S. actions have squeezed Huawei. The Commerce Department tightened an export ban on Huawei in August, cutting it off from computing chips critical to its smartphones and telecom equipment. Analysts have said Huawei is relying on stockpiled inventory to build its products.

The tighter controls have had the greatest impact on the company’s smartphone business, which accounted for more than half its revenue in 2019. Shipments of its handsets fell more than 40% in the quarter to Dec. 31 from a year earlier, and Huawei in November sold off its budget Honor brand of smartphones to a consortium led by the government of Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city where Huawei is based.

Mr. Ren said in his remarks Tuesday that the company still managed to increase both profit and revenue last year despite the challenges, although it has yet to report its 2020 earnings. In 2019, Huawei made about $9.7 billion in profit on more than $130 billion in revenue.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×