Huawei goes on legal warpath with twin North American lawsuits
- The legal offensive shows a more aggressive stance against the US government’s efforts to ban use of Huawei gear
- Countries are preparing to spend billions on 5G networks, enabling everything from smart highways to self-driving cars
Huawei Technologies, no longer content with defending itself against US accusations of espionage and bank fraud, is taking the initiative with a full-blown legal offensive.
The Chinese technology giant intends to file a lawsuit this week claiming the US government is overstepping by banning Huawei equipment from certain networks, according to people familiar with the matter. That complaint would come just days after its chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, sued Canada’s government for allegedly trampling her constitutional rights – an effort to discredit the case against her, as she awaits potential extradition to the US for bank fraud.
The long-secretive Huawei began to open up this year with founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei giving interviews to foreign media and personally denying accusations his company aids Beijing in espionage.
But the legal effort signals a more aggressive assault on its American accusers, who have been trying to persuade other countries to ban Huawei gear from telecommunications networks.
Huawei’s lawsuit against the US is aimed at a law that blocks certain government agencies from using equipment from the company and its domestic rival ZTE Corp, the people said.
Huawei is likely to argue that it is unconstitutional to single out a person or a group for a penalty without trial, they said. Huawei declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was first reported by The New York Times.