Huawei sued the Federal Communications Commission in federal court Thursday, opposing the commission’s decision blocking the Chinese company from accessing federal broadband subsidies.
The lawsuit claims the commission, which concluded the company poses a national security threat, violated Huawei’s due process rights.
“The FCC’s order violates the Constitution, and we have no choice but to seek legal remedy,” Huawei’s chief legal officer Song Liuping claimed in a Thursday press conference in Shenzhen, China.
The commission banned wireless providers from using federal subsidies to purchase any equipment or services from Huawei and ZTE on Nov. 22. The agency’s unanimous 5-0 vote blocked the two from receiving any money from the U.S. government’s $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes building broadband infrastructure to increase internet access across the United States in underserved areas.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended the decision to designate two Chinese technology companies — Huawei and ZTE — as national security threats in testimony to Congress on Thursday, pointing to close ties they have with the Chinese Communist government, as the agency prepares for wider use of the fifth generation of wireless networks, known as “5G.”
“Given the threats posed by Huawei and ZTE to America’s security and our 5G future, this FCC will not sit idly by and hope for the best,” Pai said.
Huawei hired high-powered D.C. law firm Jones Day to fight the ban, and attorney Glen Nager claimed Thursday the FCC “arbitrarily and capriciously” designated Huawei as a national security threat.
“The US government has never presented real evidence to show that Huawei is a national security threat,” Liuping said. “That’s because this evidence does not exist.”
But the commission’s 96-page October report on improving national internet wireless access mentioned Huawei 295 times and ZTE 132 times, repeatedly pointing to the security challenges posed by both.
Pai said hidden backdoors to U.S. wireless networks could allow China to inject viruses, steal data, and spy on Americans.
The DOJ and U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Huawei and ZTE are working hand-in-hand with the Chinese government, potentially giving China’s surveillance state access to hardware and networks around the world. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly warned European allies against using Huawei’s 5G technology. The U.S. and some of its closest intelligence allies continue to disagree over the use of Huawei technology.
Huawei has pushed back against the U.S. in court before, suing the U.S. government in March, claiming a federal law that bans U.S. agencies from contracting with Huawei denies the company due process. That same month, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou — the daughter of Huawei’s founder — sued Canada for alleged wrongful detention following her December 2018 arrest. The U.S. wants Meng extradited to face federal charges for an alleged scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The Huawei ban has the backing of the Justice Department. Huawei also faces criminal charges of violating the U.S. embargo on Iran, bank fraud, economic espionage, trade secret theft, fraud, and obstruction of justice.
