According to a Financial Times report, Google execs are concerned that banning Huawei could lead to increased security risks. Sources warn that if Huawei is not allowed access to Android updates, it could develop its own, similar software, which would be more susceptible to being hacked. Google is reportedly asking the Trump Administration to delay the ban or exempt the company altogether.
Google has warned the Trump administration that it risks compromising US national security if it goes ahead with export restrictions on Huawei Technologies, and has asked to be exempted from any ban, according to a Financial Times report that cited three people briefed on the conversations.
Senior executives at the US-based technology giant have warned it would not be able to update its Android operating system on Huawei’s smartphones, prompting the Chinese company to develop its own version of the software, the report said. A Huawei-modified version of Android, Google argued, could then be more vulnerable to hacking risks.
The Trump administration put Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment provider, in a trade blacklist last month in a policy move that will prevent the company from buying semiconductors, software and other components from American hi-tech suppliers.
The US government has depicted Huawei as a security risk, warning other economies that 5G network equipment supplied by the company to telecoms network operators around the world could be compromised to aid espionage and surveillance by Beijing.
