U.S. banhammers Huawei, blocking handsets, hardware, and Android access
The Bureau of Industry and Security within the U.S. Department of Commerce has added Chinese device maker Huawei and its affiliates to the Bureau's Entity List. That list is comprised of companies prohibited from trading with American businesses without a special license. According to the Commerce Department's announcement, the move comes in the wake of the Department of Justice's allegations that Huawei both directly violated and conspired to violate trade sanctions against Iran. These charges are covered by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This creates an immediate import ban in the United States for all products made by Huawei and prohibits American businesses from dealing with the electronics giant.
Because Huawei's smartphone lineup relies on Android and Google Play-a product of the United States-the company will face technological hurdles going forward. Reuters reports that Google says it's complying with the order and that future devices won't have access to its services. According to Google's spokesperson, "Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get ...