Huawei ban: Early "assurances", delays and lobby pressure

The organizations FragDenStaat and LobbyControl complain about inconsistencies in the agreement between the German government and network operators on the use of Chinese technology in mobile networks. They criticize: Massive lobbying pressure from Huawei, Telekom and other network operators on the German government had delayed the exclusion for years - despite security policy concerns.

The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) only released almost completely redacted documents in response to freedom of information requests, citing security interests. This includes a sentence on the "state of play" for a meeting between Digital State Secretary Stefan Schnorr (FDP) and Michael Yang, Huawei's chief representative in Germany, at the end of March 2022: "A general exclusion of a manufacturer of network components from the development of the 5G infrastructure is not planned." This is also stated in a note for a meeting between Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges.

Misinterpreted?

LobbyControl criticizes how often representatives of network operators and Huawei met with representatives of the German government. Höttges, in particular, frequently spoke about Huawei and 5G. He was met with open ears by former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Wissing and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). According to the organizations, however, it is more serious that the BMDV leaned far out of the window even before the legal examination of an exclusion anchored in the law for the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

A BMDV spokesperson rejected the accusation to heise online, saying that FragDenStaat was misinterpreting the term "foresee". The controversial statement was solely "about the description of the legal situation" in the BSI Act. According to this, the use of a critical component can be prohibited if it is likely to impair the public order or security of the Federal Republic of Germany. A specific security policy assessment must be carried out without a general exclusion of a manufacturer of network components being provided for. This word here "does not refer to any intentions or plans of the Federal Government, but describes the scope of a legal norm".

There is a "Huawei clause" in the IT Security Act 2.0 and the amended BSI Act. However, it sets a comparatively high hurdle for excluding individual equipment suppliers from network expansion for 5G, for example. The Federal Government is to be able to prohibit the use of "critical components" in the event of "probable impairments to public safety and order".

The BMDV also refutes the claim that the ministry has "blocked a decision on security issues in the expansion of the mobile network or vehemently supported Huawei". The government does not generally take different positions on such security issues. This is also made clear by the measures adopted and the agreements made by the BMI with the network operators.

Huawei did not wish to comment on the allegations. Equipment experts said that non-critical components such as 5G antennas could not be excluded under the BSI Act anyway. In addition, testing of already installed components is not mandatory, but at best possible. The former black-red coalition has also repeatedly emphasized that the IT security law should not become a Huawei law.

Deal with concessions

Antonia Hmaidi, analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Mercis), assessed the compromise reached on ZDF as half-baked. In order for the operators to agree to the deal with the BMI, the Ministry of the Interior had to make "very clear concessions". The trade-off was clearly made in favor of "lower costs and less burden on the companies".

Adrian Dabrowski, researcher at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, pointed out that access and misuse options remain open: "As long as I have any network element - even if it is not critical - it still opens up the possibility of backdoor access." This could also be used to attack components "that may be from a different manufacturer".

(mma)