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Google Warns Trump Administration That Huawei Block Threatens National Security

Tech giant backs the Chinese company, saying its blacklisting will risk the dominance of U.S. companies in the long term.

The Trump administration’s harsh line on Huawei appears to have forged an unlikely alliance between the Chinese tech giant and Google. The Financial Times reports Google execs have essentially acted as Huawei’s emissaries in urgent talks with the U.S. government. They’ve reportedly told Trump officials that they risk compromising U.S. national security if they push ahead with strict export restrictions on Huawei, and have asked to be exempted. Google fears it would not be allowed to update its Android operating system on Huawei smartphones under the ban, meaning the Chinese company would develop its own version of the software that could be more susceptible to hacking. Meanwhile, Facebook is taking a harsher line and has announced it’s no longer allowing pre-installation of its apps on Huawei phones.