Chinese telecommunications company Huawei will sue the United States government for a bill banning its agencies from using Huawei technology, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, Huawei is expected to argue that the bill singles out Huawei for punishment without a trial, a violation of Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution.
U.S. intelligence agencies have long suspected Huawei of espionage; the company was labeled a national security threat in 2012. A provision in a law Congress passed last year banned the use of Huawei equipment by federal agencies. That provision is what the lawsuit will likely challenge.
In January, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Huawei with stealing trade secrets and violating sanctions against Iran. As Pacific Standard explained, the first of the two indictments against the company outlined its policy of rewarding employees who stole confidential information from competitors including T-Mobile:
Tappy, a once-“cutting-edge” robot that T-Mobile created to test phones, was a particularly valuable target. An email chain laid out in the indictment reveals employees’ attempts to copy and even steal Tappy’s secrets: taking photos, asking a suspicious amount of questions, and even detaching its mechanical arm and stuffing in a bag.
The second indictment charged that the company had sold products to Iran, via a front company called Skycom, in violation of U.S. sanctions. The Chinese foreign ministry refuted the charges.
The news of the forthcoming lawsuit comes a day after the Associated Press reported that Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, is suing the Canadian government. Meng was arrested on fraud charges last December in Vancouver at the U.S. government’s request, and she claims she was detained and interrogated before being informed that she was under arrest.
A hearing is scheduled for later this week regarding whether or not Meng will be extradited to the U.S.
