from the can't-tell-you,-it's-secret dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
When Microsoft asked US lawmakers to explain the threat [from Huawei], they've been too vague for Smith's liking. Huawei is a major customer of his company: Its laptops come with Microsoft's Windows operating system.
"Oftentimes, what we get in response is, 'Well, if you knew what we knew, you would agree with us'," Smith told Bloomberg. "And our answer is, 'Great, show us what you know so we can decide for ourselves. That's the way this country works.' "
[...] Smith, who's also Microsoft's chief legal officer, said his company argued that the department should limit its ban to sales that pose national security risks, such as universities with Chinese military links -- an approach he compared to a "scalpel" rather than its current "meat cleaver" method.
Neither Huawei nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
Related Stories
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/huawei-sues-fcc-to-stop-ban-on-huawei-gear-in-us-funded-
Huawei has sued the Federal Communications Commission over the agency's order that bans Huawei equipment in certain government-funded telecom projects.
[...] The FCC voted unanimously on November 22 to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment in projects paid for by the commission's Universal Service Fund (USF). The order will affect many small telecom providers that rely on the companies' network gear.
[...] "The US government has never presented real evidence to show that Huawei is a national security threat," Song said. "That's because this evidence does not exist. When pushed for facts, they respond that 'disclosing evidence might also undermine US national security.' This is complete nonsense."
[...] "We've built networks in places where other vendors would not go. They were too remote, or the terrain was difficult, or there just wasn't a big enough population," he said. "In the US, we sell equipment to 40 small wireless and wireline operators. They connect schools, hospitals, farms, homes, community colleges, and emergency services."
Hoftstra University law professor Julian Ku said that "even a small [Huawei] victory in the case, one that makes the FCC go and start the process over again, would be a huge victory for them," according to The New York Times. But it may be a difficult case for Huawei to win because US courts usually give federal agencies "a tremendous amount of deference," Ku said.
Previously:
Huawei Funds $56M in Academic Research in Canada. That Has Some Experts Concerned
How China Is Building A World-Beating Phone Network
FCC Tells US Telcos: Buy Chinese Kit And You Won't See Another Dime From Us
American Giants Get 90 Days To Wrap Up Deals With 'Dangerous' Huawei
Huawei's First Google-Free Phone Stripped And Searched: Repair Not Too Painful... Once You're In
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Urges Europe to Take a Stand Against Huawei
Microsoft President Says US Government Isn't Being Open About Huawei Ban
Huawei: ARM Cortex-A77 Cores Would Shorten Battery Life
Huawei Might Put its IOT OS on Mobile Phones After All
Huawei Announces HarmonyOS, a Smartphone OS and Android Alternative
Huawei Doesn't See Open Source as the Fix for Spying Accusations (but They Should)
Huawei Reportedly Helped North Korea Build Out 3G Network in Secret
Huawei's Android Alternative Lives on... for IoT
What Huawei To Go: Hundreds Of Chinese Tech Giant's US Workers To Get Pink Slip
Trump Administration Will Loosen Restrictions Against Huawei
Huawei Soldiers on, Announces Nova 5 and Kirin 810
Huawei Blacklisting Predicted to Cause DRAM Prices to Drop 15%
NSA Spied on Chinese Government and Huawei
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Tuesday September 10 2019, @01:35PM (7 children)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday September 10 2019, @01:44PM (6 children)
There's a pretty strong phenomenon in the market right now that if someone can't buy what they're looking for, they can just make do without. It's not like there aren't millions of use-able PCs lying around because they've been early-retired / replaced with something shiny.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday September 10 2019, @02:53PM (5 children)
Yeah, but also, no one is looking for huawei. It was an expanding company in the US. Their products have a pretty solid reputation in China, but that doesn't really transfer here.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday September 10 2019, @04:47PM (3 children)
Well, of course... Apple is a made in China brand which offshores all their profits, you don't see them being singled out, do you?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday September 10 2019, @05:01PM (2 children)
I guess that's a true statement, but I don't know what you're getting at.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday September 10 2019, @06:39PM (1 child)
So many things, how to list them all...? All the "best" people use Apple products. Apple has strong established ties (kickbacks) into government, especially education, smacking Apple around would make lots of people with various levels of political power unhappy - same with any established supplier like Dell, HP, IBM, etc. Meanwhile, Huawei is an upstart in the US, very little established market presence, almost no established government ties - what better time to kick them around than before they grow roots in North America? And, who, really, is going to complain that they can't get their Huawei whatever? Anybody who has bought a China market cellphone in the last 5 years, that's who - their stuff is 2-3 years ahead of the US carriers' officially supported hardware, and half the price, but very few US citizens even know to care about this, and there are plenty of other China market suppliers besides Huawei.
I seem to recall back in the 1980s Toshiba leaked rather important military secrets to the Russians, particularly around the area of silent submarine props. I also seem to recall very little happening to them as a result because: lots of US interests would have been hurt if Toshiba was hurt.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @07:12PM
Yes, around 1986-1987 I remember.
We got them to buy our nucular industry though, that really put them through the wringer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 11 2019, @08:20AM
That "here" is only valid for America. Huawei has been steadily eating market share of Apple and other US companies all over the world. And THAT is the reason for the accusations and ban.
And to this point it really are only accusations, it's been going on for a long time now, still not a single piece of evidence or semblence of evidence. In fact, evidence to the opposite is given by the fact that all allies and 5-eyes members happily continue on using Huawei.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday September 10 2019, @01:42PM (2 children)
Scalpels don't whip up the base, meat cleavers do. I'm guessing there's a hope that the threat of the meat cleaver will force the appearance of compliance, the way the Prez is swinging that meat cleaver he's risking cutting off his own dick.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday September 10 2019, @02:55PM
Oh, poor Toad [thecut.com]
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @05:18PM
According to Stormy Daniels, that's an exteremely small risk.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @01:55PM (1 child)
Huawei's new operating system is not about "better than Windows" or "better than Android, superior or inferior technical skills of engineers. It is all about sovereignty. Nor Microsoft nor Google care about anyone's sovereignty, but they both pretty understand they will loose a market share, sooner or later. The planet is not growing an infinite market. The first batch of 300k Huawei tablets with Russian operating systems for Russia is just the beginning...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @03:33PM
Harmony is obviously a hedge for Huawei to avoid being caught off guard and crippled. But it can be more.
Harmony doesn't have the baggage Android has. Google has repeatedly tried to get more control over Android devices and give them more reliable updates, but fragmentation has remained a problem. Harmony is a clean slate. They can pick and choose ideas from Linux, Android, Fuchsia, etc. It will be compatible with Android apps to ease adoption. China's telecoms can encourage or force people to use it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @02:51PM
Wants to build a wall to keep foreign OS out of its territory.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday September 10 2019, @03:07PM
"The competition, it burns, it burns!! Please, Mister President, let us keep selling our stuff in China!"
Huawei can, and probably will, use that as a selling point. "Our stuff doesn't run American OS's, and it's not Microsoft!" If I were a terrorist, that would be a major sales point. Actually, I'm not even a terrorist, and it's still a nice sales point!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Bot on Tuesday September 10 2019, @05:54PM (2 children)
>When Microsoft asked US lawmakers to explain the threat [from Huawei], they've been too vague for Smith's liking.
"with less than 100% documented hardware platform, you cannot have a secure system" is indeed vague but true enough.
But, does that matter to a Microsoft user? yes. Because holes in the hull do not cancel each others out. Adding ways you can be spied upon is still bad.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by pipedwho on Tuesday September 10 2019, @09:31PM (1 child)
But, that is true for just about any complex hardware. Especially since most of the parts are made in China anyway.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday September 10 2019, @10:02PM
True, this is why hardware and IT is a strategic sector. In fact, the outsourcing itself says nations have already been swallowed by the one system. We always been at war with eastasia. Yet my point that a vague reason is not a bad reason stands.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 10 2019, @09:46PM
MS Finally got someone to pay them (huawei), after years of piracy and being slapped around. Of all the tech companies they had the long view;if China is going to pirate everything might as well be MS, someday , someday they will eventually pay.
https://sampi.co/microsoft-in-china-20-years/ [sampi.co]
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday September 11 2019, @11:50AM
Microsoft and Huawei are both making prison intercom software, why would you ever use anything either of them make for your own communications if you are not in prison?
thesesystemsarefailing.net