Google Blacklist Huwaei After Trump Administration Crackdown, Cuts Their Licence

According to Sky News, Google has restricted future business with Huawei by cutting off access to its Android operating system and other Google support apps like Gmail, YouTube and Chrome after the Trump administration escalated a crackdown on the Chinese tech firm. The US Commerce Department said it had initiated the crackdown because Huawei “is engaged in activities that are contrary to United States’ national security or foreign policy interest.” The Department of Justice has also accused it of violating Iran sanctions.

Google’s suspension, first reported by Reuters, amounts to a major blow to Huawei who will no longer receive access and support for Google’s proprietary apps. The open source version of Android will still be available to Huawei, according to the report, but the Chinese tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to the operating system. Although existing Huawei users can still download popular Google apps through the Google Play store and also enjoy the security protections provided by Google Play Protect, they won’t be available on future Huawei handsets.

The impact of white house is a major blow to the fast growing Chinese company and it may cripple the company from growth.

In a statement, the company said: "Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold or still in stock globally. We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally."

Huawei's enormous sales figures in China and impressive growth in parts of Europe has seen the company overtake iPhone maker Apple in terms of market share. According to Sky News, Figures released earlier this month suggested that Huawei was now only behind Samsung when it comes to global smartphone sales, with 59.1 million shipments in the first quarter of 2019.

According to Washington Post, In a statement Monday, Huawei said it has made “substantial contributions” to Android’s global ecosystem; 2.5 billion devices around the world run on Android. The company said it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to owners of its smartphones and tablets.

 

While a custom Huawei-built operating system may not cause any issue in Chinese market, where most Google apps are banned anyway, it would likely be rejected by Western customers since Google apps are critical part of Android devices in Europe, the UK and Africa.

Last week, Huawei's UK executive vice president Jeremy Thompson told Sky News that it is willing to go the "extra mile" to reassure countries its technology is safe - specifically regarding its telecommunications equipment rather than its consumer devices. His comments came after Prime Minister Theresa May came in for criticism over a National Security Council decision to back the use of Huawei technology in "non-core" 5G network infrastructure in the UK.