Huawei Sues the FCC, Ramping Up Fight With Critics and Foes

Huawei is suing the Federal Communications Commission for choking off its sales in the United States, the latest in the besieged company’s widening efforts to hit back at regulators and critics across the globe. The FCC voted in November to bar American telecommunications companies from using federal subsidies to buy equipment from Huawei and another Chinese supplier, ZTE. Washington considers both firms to be national security risks. “The FCC claims that Huawei is a security threat. But FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has not provided any evidence,” said Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer. “The FCC’s order violates the Constitution, and we have no choice but to seek legal remedy.” Huawei filed its petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which covers the region that includes Huawei’s American headquarters in Plano, Texas. The company asked the court to hold the FCC’s order unlawful because the commission did not offer it due process protections before designating it a security threat.