{"id":6880,"date":"2019-01-29T21:02:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T21:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/huawei-a-simple-guide-to-why-the-company-is-in-so-much-trouble\/"},"modified":"2019-01-29T21:02:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T21:02:52","slug":"huawei-a-simple-guide-to-why-the-company-is-in-so-much-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/huawei-a-simple-guide-to-why-the-company-is-in-so-much-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Huawei: A simple guide to why the company is in so much trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Huawei\"Image copyright<\/span>
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A lot of people are talking about Huawei – and not just because they make really well reviewed, top-end phones. <\/p>\n

The Chinese company is in pretty hot water in various places, because certain people believe they are using their tech to spy on people – something the company totally denies.<\/p>\n

There’s a court case against Huawei taking place in the US right now.<\/p>\n

And other countries all over the world are losing faith in this tech giant due to security fears.<\/p>\n

But although it can be quite hard to care about the ins and outs of a technology company on the other side of the planet – you might be worried about your handset or whether to buy a new Huawei. <\/p>\n

So here’s a quick explanation of what’s going on.<\/p>\n

What is Huawei?<\/h2>\n

First of all, it’s pronounced “Wah-way” and Huawei sells more mobile phones across the world than Apple.<\/p>\n

Samsung sell the most, with Huawei clocking in as the second most popular.<\/p>\n

In the UK, there was a huge jump in sales of Huawei handsets<\/a> in 2018 when they released their P20 Pro.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Huawei released the P20 and the P20 Pro (pictured) in 2018 to glowing reviews
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According to many reviewers Huawei’s P20 Pro, which was released in 2018, is a real contender to the other big hitters – a Samsung or an iPhone.<\/p>\n

But as well as the phones we’ve got in our pockets, Huawei also provide technology to other companies to make their own handsets and wi-fi networks.<\/p>\n

Basically, Huawei is everywhere.<\/p>\n

Why is everyone talking about Huawei?<\/h2>\n

There are some worries about what Huawei has been doing with the millions of mobile phones it’s sold and all that tech kit.<\/p>\n

Some countries fear Huawei is being used by the Chinese government to spy on people.<\/p>\n

The man who founded Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, was an engineer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the early 1980s – a fact which has worried businesses and governments already distrustful of China’s political leaders.<\/p>\n

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is the armed force of the Communist Party of China, which has ruled the People’s Republic of China since 1921.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Ren Zhengfei was involved in China’s ruling communist party nearly 40 years ago
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Huawei says it has no links to the government and insists it is an independent company.<\/p>\n

But there have been warnings in the US since 2012<\/a> that Huawei pose a security threat.<\/p>\n

And in the UK, a report in 2018 said it had “only limited assurance”<\/a> that Huawei’s broadband and mobile equipment wasn’t a threat to national security – which isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement.<\/p>\n

OK, who else is involved?<\/h2>\n

It’s not just the US and UK who are starting to get a bit concerned.<\/p>\n

In 2018, both Australia and New Zealand excluded Huawei from involvement in it’s future 5G network – again because they think the company might be trying to spy on them.<\/p>\n

In January 2019, Vodafone “paused” the use of Huawei equipment in Europe<\/a> (specifically Spain) because they had the same worries.<\/p>\n

What’s happening now?<\/h2>\n

There is a court case taking place in America<\/a>, in which Huawei is accused of bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology from rival T-Mobile – so nothing to do with spying on people.<\/p>\n

Some of these allegations relate to deals reportedly done by Huawei with Iran – and Donald Trump has said that companies who trade with Iran cannot also trade with America.<\/a><\/p>\n

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, has been arrested by US officials for her involvement in evading President Trump’s sanctions against Iran.<\/p>\n

Huawei deny all the charges.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n There is huge support for Huawei and its senior management from people in China
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What does this mean if you’re reading this on a Huawei?<\/h2>\n

Most of the worries about Huawei relate to their involvement in other companies’ networks, not digging through the personal details of people who’ve snapped up a P20.<\/p>\n

And it’s important to remember there are no spying charges against the company, even in the case that’s happening in the US right now – and no-one has been found guilty of anything.<\/p>\n

Follow Newsbeat on <\/i>Instagram<\/a>, <\/i>Facebook<\/a> and <\/i>Twitter<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Listen to Newsbeat <\/i>live<\/a> at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra – if you miss us you can listen back <\/i>here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n