Germany is poised to ban Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE from participating in its 5G networks, dealing another blow to the firms.
The US has already banned Huawei and ZTE, and has been pressuring its allies to do the same. Intelligence agencies have long expressed concerns over the companies’ ties to Beijing and their obligation to assist China’s foreign surveillance efforts.
According to Reuters, Germany is preparing to ban the two companies, prohibiting telecom operators from using their equipment. In addition, Germany may even require operators to remove existing equipment manufactured by Huawei and ZTE, similar to measures taken in the US.
Interestingly, although Huawei would not publicly speculate on Germany’s actions, a spokesperson told Reuters that the company had a “very good security record.”
Of course, that statement ignores the fact that Huawei had the ability to monitor calls on one of the largest Dutch wireless networks, even raising the possibility that it could have monitored the calls of then prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.