Google Severs Ties with Huawei

Rabat – In the wake of President Trump’s recent executive order on information and communications technology security, technology giant Google suspended its future services to the Chinese electronic devices manufacturer Huawei, on May 19.

“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” stated a Google spokesperson to Reuters.

President Trump has recently signed an executive order to ban American companies from dealing with any foreign telecommunication technology providers who are considered to pose a threat to US national security.

Google’s suspension of services to Huawei concerns “the transfer of hardware, software and technical services,” reported Reuters sources. However, services that are “publicly available via open source licensing” are exempt from this decision.

The Google spokesperson also noted that users of current versions of Huawei devices connected with Google are not affected and will continue to have access to Google applications and updates.

Future versions of Huawei smartphones, however, are “unlikely to have access to Google’s popular services, including Gmail, YouTube and maps unless a special license is obtained,” said Reuters.

Huawei, who will be one of the most affected by the new executive order, is a leading information and communications technology manufacturer that has been at the center heightened trade and political tensions between the US and China over the last few months.

The US has repeatedly accused China of using its technological equipment to spy on American networks. Huawei has denied these accusations and offered to sign a “no-spy” agreement.

Google has significant international market power via its Play Store services. Without Google’s software and Android updates in its future smartphones, Huawei’s future remains unknown.