Bad Press Ambushes Huawei

These days, Huawei (pronounced "wah-way", according to the company themselves) have been getting a lot of bad press. As I see it, much of it is undeserved. 

Still, the fact remains a lot of people are talking about Huawei – and not only because they make really well reviewed, top-end phones. Mobile phone sales are dominated by Samsung in first position, followed by second-placed Huawei and Apple in third place. 

But as well as the phones we've got in our pockets, Huawei also provide technology to other companies to make their own handsets and wi-fi networks. Basically, Huawei are everywhere. 

And the Chinese company find themselves in hot water in a number of countries – and that’s because some authorities believe they are using their tech to spy on people – something the company totally deny. 

There are real concerns about what Huawei have been doing with the millions of mobile phones they’ve sold and all that tech kit. 

Already, some countries fear Huawei are being used by the Chinese government to spy on people. 

The man who founded Huawei, Ren Zhengfei (right), was an engineer in the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the early 1980s – and that alone has alarmed businesses and governments already distrustful of China's political leaders. The Chinese People's Liberation Army is the armed force of the Communist Party of China, which have ruled the People's Republic of China since 1921. 

Huawei say they have zilch links to the government and insist they are an independent company. 

Maybe so, but there have been warnings in the US since 2012 that Huawei pose a security threat. And in the UK, a 2018 report said it had "only limited assurance" that Huawei's broadband and mobile equipment wasn't a threat to national security – which isn't exactly a glowing endorsement. In 2018, even Australia and New Zealand excluded Huawei from involvement in their future 5G network – again because they think the company might be trying to spy on them. 

There is a court case taking place in America, in which Huawei are accused of bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology from rival T-Mobile – but this is nothing to do with spying on people. 

Some of the allegations relate to deals reportedly done by Huawei with Iran – and Donald Trump has said that companies who trade with Iran cannot also trade with the US of A. 

Meng Wanzhou (left), Huawei's CFO and the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, has been arrested in Canada for her involvement in evading Trump's sanctions against Iran. 

Huawei deny all these charges. 

Most of the worries about Huawei relate to their involvement in other companies' networks – and not digging through the personal details of people who've snapped up a P20 or whatever Huawei device there is. 

[Note Huawei's P20 Pro, which was released in 2018, is a real contender to the other big hitters, whether a Samsung or an iPhone]. 

More importantly, it is noteworthy to remember there are no spying charges against the company, even in the case that's happening in the US right now – and nobody has been found guilty of anything so far. 

Just because the Chinese label sticks on Huawei, there is this irrational fear about the company that is both unfair and prejudiced.