UK to decide on possible Huawei ban

The UK government is preparing a review on whether Huawei should be banned from working with the country's mobile networks, it has revealed.

According to Sky News, the investigation is set to be completed in March, however the findings may not be made public if it is thought they are too sensitive, the government says.

The DCMS review is currently "ongoing" Jeremy Wright MP, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said yesterday, however he would not confirm how long it might take.

Huawei is currently under scrutiny in a number of Western nations over concerns that its hardware could be used for illegal surveillance purposes. The Chinese manufacturer, which recently overtook Apple to become the world's second-largest phone maker, has long been suspected of working closely with the Chinese government to pass on intelligence.

Huawei UK ban

Wright, who was speaking at an event concerning responsible technology in London, added that he wanted to "make sure" he had seen all the evidence before making a decision, noting that "we should have it in March".

"It's the right thing to do in my judgement to look at the supply-chain for telecoms, to make sure we're confident that our security interests are met just as our requirements for efficient, effective technology are met," he said.

"That's what this review is doing and I want to make sure that we've given everybody contributing to the review the chance to say what they want to.

"When they have, we'll have a look at the conclusions and decide what will go next.

"We've seen what other countries are doing, but I think it's very important for the UK to consider carefully the evidence we're collecting and then we'll make a judgement."

However a DCMS spokesperson later told Sky News that the review results may never be published due to its sensitive nature.

"We will need to consider the most appropriate mechanisms for demonstrating the outcomes of the review once it concludes in the Spring," they said.

Via: Sky News

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