The Huawei Android license has been pulled by Google in what is sure to be a devastating blow for the Chinese technology manufacturer. Huawei is a company that has become known for its powerful Android phones at much cheaper prices as compared to the competition, but recent changes in US regulations have forced Google to remove Huawei’s license to make use of the Android operating system.
President Trump has recently signed an Executive Order that places greater restrictions on which technologies can be sold to countries on the “Entity List.” Some of the technology in this Executive Order includes telecommunications tech. Countries on this list require U.S. government approval for certain technologies to be sold to these nations and China is on the list, a decision that ultimately affected Huawei in a big way.
“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” said a Google spokesman to Reuters. The spokesman further confirmed to Reuters that current owners of Huawei phones should be able to continue to use and download app updates supplied by Google even though the Huawei Android license has been pulled.
China’s inclusion on the Entity List stems from allegations that it violated existing sanctions on Iran and further engaged in obstruction of justice related to the alleged violation of sanctions.
“This will prevent American technology from being used by [foreign-owned] entities in ways that potentially undermine US national security or foreign policy interests,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
A senior administration official briefing reporters on the situation stated that the next 150 days will be spent writing up the rules needed to enforce the Executive Order signed by President Trump. Until that time, it won’t be entirely clear what the future of the Huawei Android relationship will look like. For now, Huawei will likely have to resort to using the open-source version of Android for their future products until this matter is properly settled. Huawei shipped 200 million phones last year, so this is sure to be a monumental change for them.
