London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 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
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×