Google has suspended the transfer of hardware, software and technical services to Chinese vendor Huawei following a recent order by the U.S. government to put Huawei in an export blacklist, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The U.S. giant said that it will only continue offering those services publicly available via open source licensing.
“Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google,” the source said.
The source also said that the details of the specific services affected by the suspension were still being discussed internally at Google.
“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” a Google spokesperson reportedly said. “For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices,” the spokesperson added.
Also, U.S. chipmakers including Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have told their employees they will not supply Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that it is adding Chinese vendor Huawei to its so-called “Entity List”, a decision that effectively bans the Chinese company from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval.
The decision was adopted amid a recent escalation in the trade war between the the U.S. and China.
Under the order, Huawei will need a U.S. government license to buy components from U.S suppliers. The DoC said that a license may be denied if the sale or transfer would harm U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
“Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry,” Huawei said in a statement.
“Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.”
Earlier this year, Huawei Technologies confirmed that it has a proprietary operating systems for both smartphones and computers, which the vendor plans to use in the event of an eventual ban by the U.S. government.
Huawei started building its own operating system after a U.S. investigation into Huawei and compatriot vendor ZTE in 2012, according to previous reports.
Huawei’s mobile chief Richard Yu Chengdong had said that Huawei has made a backup OS for PCs and smartphones in the event that the increasing tensions with the U.S. government prevent the vendor from using Windows and Android.
