Merkel allows Huawei to build 5G network despite security concerns & massive opposition

In a massive development in the West, Germany has decided to allow Chinese telecom giant Huawei to set-up a 5G network in the country. According to Asia Times, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has sent legislation to the German parliament on Wednesday to allow Huawei to build 5G network. However, the proposed legislation will also make Huawei and other providers financially liable for security lapses or privacy breaches and will also allow German security agencies to keep a check by gaining full access to their network.

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Merkel faces opposition

The proposed legislation comes despite opposition from left-wing parties Social Democratic and The Greens. Merkel's own party members from the Christian Democratic Union rallied against the legislation to allow Chinese company Huawei for building the 5G network, citing security concerns. The German cabinet proposed the legislation despite intense lobbying from their NATO partner the United States, which want all its allies to discard Huawei from building 5G networks. 

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Americans accuse Huawei of spying for the Chinese Communist Party, which the billion-dollar giant dismisses as unfounded allegations. The US intelligence community had accused Huawei of plotting to steal data from its hardware. The United States says that Huawei uses its equipment that it provides to telecom companies to spy on behalf of the Chinese Communist State. However, critics argue that bad actors can infiltrate tainted tools into any other equipment if they want. 

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Huawei is the largest equipment supplier to some of Germany's largest mobile network providers, including Deutsche Telekom, Vodaphone, Telefonica. Huawei is not just the biggest supplier of telecom equipment in Germany, but also one of the biggest in the whole of Europe. Huawei recently set up a testing centre in Brussels, which is the headquarters of the European Union.  

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(Image Credit: AP)