. | . |
Huawei denies being bound by Chinese spy laws By Dmitry ZAKS London (AFP) June 10, 2019 Huawei's cyber security chief told the UK parliament Monday that the Chinese telecoms giant has been advised it was under no obligation to spy for Beijing if so asked by the Communist state. John Suffolk told a committee hearing that Huawei has sought guidance from its attorneys to see if a Chinese law on domestic companies' cooperation with the government on security matters could force it to conduct foreign intelligence work. The legislation has been cited by US President Donald Trump's administration in its attempts to force governments across the world to drop Huawei from their 5G network development plans. Suffolk's appearance before the UK parliament's science and technology committee came as Britain prepares to publish delayed policy guidelines for the next-generation technology's rollout. "There are no laws in China that obligate us to work with the Chinese government with anything whatsoever," Suffolk said. "Our legal advice is that is not the case." Britain and other states are concerned by a series of Chinese laws that include one adopted in June 2017 covering private companies and intelligence matters. Committee member Julian Lewis cited the legislation as saying that Beijing had the power to "request the relevant organs, organisations and civilians to provide necessary support, assistance and cooperation" to various Chinese security agencies. Suffolk said the legislation's "unclear" wording forced Huawei to consult its Chinese attorneys and advisers at London's Clifford Chance law firm. "Many countries produce laws that are unclear and we have had to go through a period of clarification with the Chinese government that have come out and made it quite clear that (spying) is not the requirement on any company," Suffolk said. "We have had that validated again by our lawyers and revalidated again by Clifford Chance. I believe there is no such obligation." Lewis called Suffolk's explanation "entirely unbelievable". - Huawei's work in Xinjiang - Huawei currently provides the most advanced -- and least expensive -- 5G technology in the world. It is also widely integrated into Britain's existing 4G network and has been cooperating with the UK government since 2010 on cyber security threats. UK intelligence agencies have been unable to agree whether it was wiser to "manage" risks by working more closely with Huawei -- or to fall behind technologically and wait for Western companies to develop their own 5G systems. The Trump administration has warned that the US may have to stop sharing intelligence with Britain if it builds its new network around Huawei hardware. British lawmakers have been further unnerved by revelations first made by Australian researchers that Huawei's tecnology was being used to conduct surveillance in China's restrive Xinjiang region. Chinese authorities have placed an estimated one million mostly Muslim ethnic minorities -- including Uighurs -- in internment camps with the help of face recognition technology. Suffolk confirmed that Huawei's equipment was being used by a "partner" in Xinjiang. "Our contracts are with a third party. It is not something we do directly," he said. Committee members pressed Suffolk on whether he felt "complicit" in wide-scale abuses of human rights. "I don't think it's for us to make such judgements," Suffolk said. "Our judgement is, is it legal within the countries in which we operate. That's our criteria. It's for others to make a judgement on whether it's right or wrong."
YouTube to ban 'hateful,' 'supremacist' videos Washington (AFP) June 5, 2019 YouTube announced Wednesday it would ban videos promoting or glorifying racism and discrimination as well as those denying well-documented violent events, like the Holocaust or the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. The announcement by the Google-owned video-sharing platform was the latest of a series of tech industry moves to filter out hateful and violent content, which have spurred calls for tougher regulation. "YouTube has always had rules of the road, including a longstanding policy aga ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |