Huawei Plans Lawsuit Against U.S. To Contest Security Claims: Report

Huawei is reportedly planning to file a lawsuit against the United States government to further push against claims by U.S. officials that the Chinese tech giant is a security risk.

The lawsuit, which Huawei is expected to announce later this week, seeks to contest the U.S. government's decision to bar federal agencies from using telecom equipment manufactured by Huawei and a separate company, ZTE, according a New York Times report on Monday.

[Related: Huawei Loses U.S. Carrier Support, But Partners Can Still Resell The Latest Huawei Smartphone]

CRN has reached out to Huawei for comment.

The New York Times, which cited multiple unnamed sources, said the lawsuit will challenge the federal agency ban, which was enacted through a defense spending authorization law last year, by arguing that the legislative act amounted to singling out "a person or group for punishment without trial," which is forbidden in Congress by the U.S. Constitution.

The article stated that the lawsuit, which would be filed in the Eastern District of Texas, is not finalized and could ultimately be withheld.

The Monday report follows a ruling by the Canadian government late last week to extradite Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to the U.S. Wanzhou, who has been in Canada's custody since December, pleaded not guilty in a Seattle court to U.S. charges of trade-secret theft, among other charges.

For years, U.S. officials have warned that the Chinese government could use equipment made by Huawei to spy and sabotage communication networks — rhetoric that has ramped up within the last year, with officials calling for Huawei equipment to be banned by other governments.

Diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China reached a turning point in December when Canadian authorities arrested Wanzhou on behalf of the U.S. because of alleged activities during her time as head of a Huawei-affiliated company that prosecutors believe sold equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. regulations.

Huawei has consistently denied any wrongdoing.