Customers shop Monday at a Huawei showroom in Beijing, China. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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May 20 (UPI) -- Google said it will stop providing Android updates for phones made by Huawei -- the tech company's response to an executive order that U.S. companies stop doing business with foreign firms that threaten national security.
Google said Monday it's suspended business activity and halted the transfer of hardware, software and key technical services for Chinese-owned Huawei -- meaning the telcom company can't license the proprietary Android operating system and other services, and can only use a public version through the Android Open Source Project.
Huawei was put on the "Entity List," meaning U.S. firms need a license to sell products to the company.
"We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications," a Google spokesperson said Monday. "For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices."
Huawei relies on Android for smartphones sold outside China, but uses a modified version without Google's pre-installed apps inside the country. Beijing also blocks Google searches.
A spokesperson said the Chinese company is evaluating the impact of the U.S. action.
"Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally," Huawei said in a statement. "We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally."
Huawei executive Richard Yu said in March the company was developing its own operating system in case access to Android was cut off.
"But of course, we prefer to work with the ecosystems of Google and Microsoft," Yu noted.
Huawei had planned to be the top smartphone maker by 2020.
Chipmakers Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom ordered their employees to stop supplying technology to Huawei. However, the company has stockpiled enough chips to continue producing phones for months.
U.S. officials have been weary of Huawei and Chinese phone maker ZTE for months. Last year, officials banned all Huawei and ZTE devices from U.S. military bases worldwide, saying they pose a risk to national security. Huawei has denied that its devices pose such a threat.
