US urges European countries to do business with trusted vendors for future of 5G networks

After mounting pressure on Chinese telecom giants, the United States has requested other countries to ensure that only reliable vendors participate in any part of their future 5G networks. The Trump administration has cited potential privacy breach by Chinese telecom companies and the threat of possible data misuse while urging other counties to be cautious. The
US State Department spokesperson said there are high risks in allowing untrusted vendors to participate in the program.

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Risks attached to 5G networks

"With so much on the line, it’s urgent that trustworthy companies build these 21st-century information arteries. Specifically, it’s critical that European countries not give control of their critical infrastructure to Chinese tech giants like Huawei, or ZTE," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said while speaking to the media. 

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US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus took to her official twitter handle to welcome the European Union council's resolution on potential risks to 5G networks. Morgan urged countries to allow only trusted vendors to participate in the exercise. 

"5G networks will form the backbone of future economies and critical infrastructure. The stakes are too high to allow these vital networks to be provided and serviced by vendors open to manipulation by authoritarian regimes. Chinese telecommunications firms such as Huawei and ZTE must comply with the directives of the government of the People’s Republic of China, without any meaningful checks and balances that would prevent misuse of data.  Allowing these vendors anywhere in a country’s 5G networks would present critical risks to the privacy, human rights, and security of its citizens," US State Department posted on its official website. 

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The United States is taking the matter of risks attached to 5G networks very seriously as they recently put pressure on Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The pressure was motivated by fears in Washington that the company's founder Ren Zhengfei has close ties with the Communist Party of China and it poses a potential security threat to the state. In May, the Trump administration blocked American companies from doing any business with the Chinese firm citing a violation of US sanctions on Iran. 

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