In a bid to avoid a drawn-out legal battle with the U.S. government, Huawei today filed a motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of a section of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). However, it’s unclear what impact, if any, the outcome of the legal challenge will have overall.
While the NDAA bans Huawei from conducting business with the U.S. government, its contractors, and suppliers, the Chinese vendor is now facing much more serious challenges since it filed the lawsuit in March. President Donald Trump earlier this month signed an executive order that prohibits Huawei from purchasing American-made products. And further actions by the U.S. Commerce Department prompted ARM, Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Google, and others to halt business, including current contracts, with Huawei.
Those actions, while related, are not directly tied to or supported by the NDAA, so even if Huawei’s lawsuit is successful its outlook could be relatively unchanged.
Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, accused the U.S. government of using legislative, administrative, and diplomatic channels to put Huawei out of business. “This is not normal. Almost never seen in history,” he said at a press conference at Huawei’s headquarters.
“The fact is, the U.S. government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat. There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation,” Song said. Huawei is fighting the law because it “takes away freedom of choice for American operators and consumers.”
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His comments also mark a shift in how Huawei executives describe the widening battle with the U.S. government and the potential implications of its outcome. Song didn’t address the executive order, but said actions by the U.S. Commerce Department “threatens to harm our customers in over 170 countries, including more than 3 billion consumers who use Huawei products and services.”
Song called connectivity a “basic human right” that the U.S. government is putting at risk, especially among people in underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, he said, the prohibition of Huawei “will directly harm more than 1,200 U.S. companies” and put tens of thousands of American jobs at risk.
“We believe this sets a dangerous precedent. Today it’s telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers,” Song said. “The judicial system is the last line of defense for justice.”
The motion for a summary judgment calls for a U.S. federal court to declare restrictions on Huawei as unconstitutional and to halt the enforcement of related sections of the NDAA.
“We believe that U.S. politicians are using cybersecurity as an excuse to gain public support for actions that are designed to achieve other goals,” Song said. The actions taken to date “provide a false sense of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we face.”