Chinese tech company Huawei has filed a lawsuit in against the US government regarding new restrictions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker and a leading smartphone brand, has filed a case in New Orleans against the US government to challenge the new FCC restrictions that further limit its remaining business in the country.
The new FCC order does not allow US carriers to use federal subsidies in purchasing Huawei equipment. In a press conference on Thursday, Huawei's chief legal officer Song Liuping claimed that FCC chairman Ajit Pai is targeting Huawei because it "is a Chinese company, that's his only excuse."
Song added: "He has tried to spread fear about Huawei. He uses words like 'back door' to scare people, but offers no proof." In the lawsuit filing, the tech company argued that the FCC restriction is unlawful because it does not offer any evidence of the how it poses a threat to national security, which is in violation of the US Constitution.
In an interview last week, Huawei chief executive officer (CEO) Ren Zhengfei said the FCC decision violates "the bedrock principle [of the US political system] because the US government should serve the best interests of Americans."
However, the US government has insisted that Huawei poses a national security threat and has taken several steps to curb its business, including prohibiting US companies from supplying it with key tech and software. It also claimed that installing Huawei's equipment in US networks could enable Chinese spies to eavesdrop on sensitive US communications.
Huawei has denied all the allegations thrown by the US government and assured the public that none of its products pose a national security risk.
Alan Fan, vice president for IP strategy and international legal policy with Huawei, pointed out that being branded a national security threat by the US "will bring about reputation losses and that will have a further impact on our business."
