U.S. lawmakers warn Canada to keep Huawei out of its 5G plans – TechCrunch
What happened: US senators have sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advocating for the exclusion of Huawei from the country’s 5G plans. The lawmakers warned Trudeau to “reconsider Huawei’s inclusion in any aspect of Canada’s 5G development, introduction, and maintenance,” due to security concerns and links to the Chinese government.
Why it’s important: Last month, the head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security—the federal agency tasked with addressing cyber threats—dismissed claims that Huawei posed a threat to the country’s national security. However, the US recently signed off on a new law that prohibits government agencies from using Huawei and ZTE’s services and hardware. Australia has also moved to block the companies from its own 5G deployment. US lawmakers warn that by making use of infrastructure built by companies close to the Chinese government, countries that make up the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network—the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—could be giving a foreign power access that they otherwise would not have had.