Republican Senators Tell Microsoft Huawei Threat Is ‘Real and Urgent’
Executive had criticized U.S. government for refusing to answer questions on evidence against Huawei
Five Republican senators told Microsoft Corp. that the threat from Huawei Technologies Co. is “real and urgent,” after one of Microsoft’s top executives complained the government hadn’t been open about why U.S. companies shouldn’t do business with the blacklisted Chinese telecommunications firm.
U.S. Senators Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Mike Braun and Josh Hawley sent a letter dated Monday to Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith with what they described as evidence of Huawei’s wrongful behavior. The letter details several allegations of “espionage activities” and “technology theft and economic warfare.”
“We appreciate Microsoft’s communications with our offices and your understanding of the threats posed by Huawei,” the senators wrote. “We also understand that many American companies have conducted business in good faith with Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications companies. While the U.S. government and American industry must take certain steps to protect our people and our telecommunications infrastructure, we do not want to cause undue harm to those American companies. We believe, however, that a review of publicly available evidence indicates that the security concerns about Huawei are real and urgent.”