AT&T Ditching a Deal With Huawei Could Become a Political Mess
American carrier AT&T has pulled out of plans to sell phones from Chinese maker Huawei, raising questions about international relations.
The scrapped deal: Huawei is the world’s biggest phone maker behind Samsung and Apple, but it hasn’t had much of a presence in America. A partnership with AT&T was to change that, but the Wall Street Journal reports it’s now off the table.
Why the U-turn? It’s not clear. Another Journal article says lawmakers in Washington still have concerns that Huawei hardware could be used to spy on Americans, noting that “pressure may have … had an impact.” The Information seems to agree, saying “political pressure” is behind the move.
Chinese relations: The South China Morning Post says these events will heighten Chinese-American tensions. Last week, Alibaba’s payment firm, Ant Financial, was blocked from acquiring MoneyGram over security concerns. A former Chinese commerce official told the Post that Beijing should consider “countermeasures” if things get worse.
Deep Dive
Tech policy
The US Navy wants swarms of thousands of small drones
Budget documents reveal plans for the Super Swarm project, a way to overwhelm defenses with vast numbers of drones attacking simultaneously.
Here’s how the Nord Stream gas pipelines could be fixed
The first step will be figuring out the extent of the damage. Then the difficulties really begin.
A wrongfully terminated Chinese-American scientist was just awarded nearly $2 million in damages
"The settlement makes clear that when the government discriminates, it’s going to be held accountable," said Sherry Chen's lawyer.
Inside effective altruism, where the far future counts a lot more than the present
The giving philosophy, which has adopted a focus on the long term, is a conservative project, consolidating decision-making among a small set of technocrats.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.