Huawei has cancelled its planned launch of a new laptop due to a recently imposed U.S. ban that forbids the company from buying parts from U.S. companies without a special government approval.

Huawei business consumer group CEO Richard Yu told CNBC that the company planned to launch a new MateBook product, but has now put those plans on hold — indefinitely.

Yu called the situation "unfortunate." He could not provide a later date for the launch, saying it depends on how long Huawei will be blacklisted by the U.S.. If Huawei stays on the U.S. "entity list" for a long time, the new MateBook might be scrapped altogether, he said.

After being blacklisted by the U.S. in May, Huawei was cut off from purchasing parts from chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm. Given that all of Huawei's MateBook laptops released so far have been based on Intel chips, Huawei was likely unable to get the necessary parts for the new MateBook — despite the reports that the company has stockpiled enough components to last it at least three months.

Huawei's laptop business was hurt in other ways, too; in May, Microsoft stopped selling Huawei laptops through its online store.

While Huawei doesn't sell a huge number of laptops — the company is a far bigger player in the smartphone arena — the cancellation of an important new product will surely hurt the company, especially given Huawei's appetite for becoming a top PC seller. The news is also bad for consumers, simply because Huawei's MateBook's laptops are really good. </s> Chinese firm cancels launch of Matebook laptop as US Entity Listing halts Intel chips and Microsoft software

Fresh signs of the fallout of the US blacking of Huawei Technologies, after the Chinese firm confirmed it is cancelling the launch of a new laptop.

The new Matebook machine was going to be revealed at the CES Asia show in Shanghai this week, but consumer division CEO Richard Yu confirmed to CNBC that the launch had been pulled.

Huawei is struggling to deal with the fallout after an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in mid May, that declared a national security emergency against Chinese firms.

Following Trump’s executive order, the US Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its so-called Entity List, which bans them from buying parts and components from US companies without US government approval.

That decision made it difficult, if not impossible, for Huawei, to sell some products because of its reliance on US suppliers for essential silicon and other components.

Just days later however the US Commerce Department announced a 90-day delay to the imposition of trade restrictions on Huawei, but the Chinese firm said that the extension didn’t ‘mean much’.

Huawei is therefore still allowed to buy US goods until 19 August.

But this new laptop is said to rely on chips from Intel, as well as software (Windows 10 etc) from Microsoft.

Both of these firm are American, and are effectively barred from doing business with Huawei.

Richard Yu told CNBC that its launch of the Matebook device had been indefinitely put on hold.

He said that being on the US Entity List had caused the cancellation.

“We cannot supply the PC,” Yu reportedly said, adding that the situation is “unfortunate.”

When Yu asked if the laptop could be launched at a later date, Yu said it “depends on how long the Entity List will be there.” He acknowledged that, if Huawei is on the blacklist for a long time, the laptop will not be able to be launched.

Huawei has insisted that the American blacklisting has not impacted smartphone sales, despite several media reports that manufacturing orders have been scaled back.

Google said that after 19 August, it will restrict Huawei’s access to future Android operating system updates, which impacts Huawei’s ability to offer popular Google apps on its phones in the future.

Google’s Play Store and all Google apps will still be available for current and future models of Huawei phones. But this is likely to change going forward.

Facebook has also pulled the pre-installing of its Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram apps from Huawei smartphones as well.

And firms such as British chip designer ARM, as well as Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have said they are halting co-operation with Huawei.

Do you know all about security? Try our quiz! </s> Huawei was planning to announce a new MateBook laptop this week, but an executive confirmed that the company cancelled the launch because of US sanctions against the Chinese company. It's not clear when—or whether—the laptop will be released.

The US has banned sales of technology to Huawei, which uses Intel chips and the Windows operating system in its MateBook PCs. Huawei "planned to unveil the new Windows laptop at the CES Asia 2019 trade show in Shanghai this week" but "indefinitely postponed" the launch because of the US export ban, The Information reported yesterday.

Huawei consumer division CEO Richard Yu subsequently confirmed the cancellation to CNBC. "We cannot supply the PC," Yu said, calling it "unfortunate," according to CNBC.

Huawei has also "paused production at its personal-computer business because of restrictions on buying US components," the Wall Street Journal reported. We contacted Huawei today, but a company spokesperson had no further information to share.

The US last month put Huawei on its Entity List, which prevents it from buying parts and components from US companies without US government approval. The US argues that the Chinese government could use Huawei to spy on the US, but Huawei has denied those accusations and called on the US to provide evidence.

"When asked if the laptop could be launched at a later date, Yu said it 'depends on how long the Entity List will be there,'" CNBC wrote. "He acknowledged that, if Huawei is on the blacklist for a long time, the laptop will not be able to be launched."

Huawei is known more for smartphones and networking equipment but has courted PC users with laptops such as the MateBook 13 and MateBook X Pro.

The Global Times—which is part of China's state-run media—published a story disputing some of the reporting about the laptop launch. "Huawei will release a new laptop product in July, with different models and configurations compared with previous series such as the MateBook and HonorBook, a source close to the matter confirmed to the Global Times," the news organization said.

"The new laptop will be equipped with the Windows operating system, the source said, in contrast to rumors about Microsoft halting cooperation with Huawei," the report added. The laptop will use an ARM processor instead of Intel, the report said.

The state-run media report doesn't mention the fact that a Huawei executive confirmed the cancellation of this week's laptop launch. The Global Times also said its source "refuted reports that Huawei had halted laptop production due to the export control imposed by the Trump administration amid the escalating trade war." The Global Times wrote that "industry insiders" called Huawei's plan to release the laptop "an inspiring move."

Intel reportedly restricted its employees from having informal conversations with Huawei, but an Intel executive also spoke out against the Trump administration's Huawei ban on Monday.

ARM—which licenses its intellectual property to other vendors—recently told its employees that the US export ban means it can no longer work with Huawei. Microsoft recently removed Huawei laptops from its website.

In other Huawei news today, The Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei has told Verizon it should pay licensing fees for more than 200 patents that cover "core network equipment, wireline infrastructure and Internet-of-things technology." </s> Huawei postpones new laptop indefinitely after US ban - Huawei has postponed indefinitely the release of a new laptop that uses Windows as an OS according to the Windows laptop consumer CEO Richard Yu. Shanghai - Huawei has postponed indefinitely the release of a new laptop that uses Windows as an OS according to the Windows laptop consumer CEO Richard Yu. The new laptop was set to be announced at CES Asia show The The new US trade sanctions are restricting Huawei's ability to use US software such as Microsoft's Windows 10 and Intel processors. Yu said the situation was unfortunate and said that the new product would have been revealed this week but without a release date. Given the problems with the US ban as Huawei is on the US Entity List the company decided not even to announce the product. Unless Huawei is removed from the blacklist the laptop may never see the light of day. Addition of Huawei to the US Entity List The Notice 68 affiliates in 26 other countries are also on the list. Huawei to stop production of laptops No details of the new laptop have been revealed except that it will be in the MateBook line. In February Huawei announced the Matebook 14 and also updated its well thought of Matebook X Pro line. But neither has shipped as yet. Huawei stockpiling parts and technology Huawei hopes to mitigate the effects of the ban on existing laptops as it has been stockpiling US components of the laptops. The laptop division is a very small part of the company's total business. However, the laptops had represented the biggest consumer success in the US so far. It was a success too for the US companies who supplied components. The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show Asia will be held in Shanghahi this week: "Be part of the tech revolution. Experience groundbreaking technology and get in touch with the world’s brightest minds at Asia’s leading tech event. CES Asia is the place where startups, entrepreneurs and global brands converge to form game-changing partnerships. CES Asia 2019 will return to Shanghai, China June 11-13, 2019. The only industry event focused on the Asia-Pacific market will take place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) and the Kerry Hotel in Pudong New Area."The new US trade sanctions are restricting Huawei's ability to use US software such as Microsoft's Windows 10 and Intel processors. Yu said the situation was unfortunate and said that the new product would have been revealed this week but without a release date. Given the problems with the US ban as Huawei is on the US Entity List the company decided not even to announce the product. Unless Huawei is removed from the blacklist the laptop may never see the light of day.The Federal Register summarizes the addition of Huawei to the Entity List: "In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) to the Entity List. The U.S. Government has determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that Huawei has been involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. BIS is also adding non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei to the Entity List because those affiliates pose a significant risk of involvement in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Huawei will be listed on the Entity List under the destination of China. This final rule also adds to the Entity List sixty-eight non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei located in twenty-six destinations: Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Vietnam."Notice 68 affiliates in 26 other countries are also on the list.No details of the new laptop have been revealed except that it will be in the MateBook line. In February Huawei announced the Matebook 14 and also updated its well thought of Matebook X Pro line. But neither has shipped as yet. Digitimes had reported earlier this week that Huawei is actually halting production and development of laptop computers. Microsoft has said nothing about what is happening but has removed Huawei laptops from sale.Huawei hopes to mitigate the effects of the ban on existing laptops as it has been stockpiling US components of the laptops.The laptop division is a very small part of the company's total business. However, the laptops had represented the biggest consumer success in the US so far. It was a success too for the US companies who supplied components. </s> The pressure is mounting on Huawei.

This week, the Chinese tech giant admitted to canceling the launch of one of its new laptops after being banned from doing business with US suppliers

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, told CNBC. "We cannot supply the PC," he said, adding that the situation is "unfortunate."

Sources familiar with the matter told The Information that its new Windows laptop, which was meant to be unveiled at the CES Asia 2019 trade show in Shanghai this week, was pulled because US trade sanctions blocked its access to Microsoft's Windows operating system and Intel's processors, which it relies on to function.

Huawei has been placed on an "entity list" which means US companies need permission to do business with the Chinese tech firm from August. Google is said to be lobbying against the decision.

Read more: Microsoft hasn't said a word so far about Huawei's ban in the US, but it removed Huawei laptops from its stores

It doesn't look like we can expect the laptop to launch anytime soon. When asked by CNBC whether it could still launch, Yu said: [It] "depends on how long the entity list will be there."

Taiwanese news site Digitimes also reported earlier this week that Huawei had paused the delivery and development of its laptops.

A spokesperson for Huawei did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Huawei previously acknowledged that it is speeding up efforts to develop its own smartphone operating system and app store to reduce the impact of trade sanctions.

It has also reportedly stopped some smartphone production lines and has "reassessed" its target to become the world's top smartphone vendor by the end of 2020. </s> Huawei has indefinitely postponed the imminent launch of a new Windows laptop, consumer division Richard Yu has confirmed to CNBC. The product was set for a reveal at the ongoing CES Asia show in Shanghai this week, but trade sanctions from the US government are restricting Huawei’s ability to use American products like Microsoft software and Intel processors. The news was first reported by The Information.

Yu described the situation as “unfortunate” to CNBC, saying that the laptop would have been unveiled this week without a release date, but Huawei’s placement on the US Entity List has stopped the company from announcing the product altogether. Whether the laptop ever sees the light of day will depend on how long Huawei remains on the blacklist.

There aren’t any technical details of the upcoming laptop in the reports, beyond that it would be a new entry in the MateBook line. Huawei updated its well-regarded MateBook X Pro line at Mobile World Congress in February, while the mid-range MateBook 13 was introduced at CES in January.

Digitimes reported earlier this week that Huawei is halting production and development of laptop computers. Microsoft has remained silent on the matter other than removing Huawei’s laptops from sale in its online store.

Huawei has suggested that its stockpiling of components and proprietary technology will mitigate the effect of US sanctions, and the laptop division only represents a tiny sliver of the company’s business. But the computers represent Huawei’s biggest consumer success in the US to date, and the retreat could be the most visible sign yet of the damage the trade war is inflicting on the company.

Huawei didn’t respond to a request from The Verge for comment.

Update June 12th, 00.45AM ET: Added CNBC’s confirmation of the story. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Richard Yu had been expected to unveil a new laptop at the CES Asia 2019 tech show in Shanghai

Huawei has ditched a product launch for the first time since the US placed it on a trade blacklist.

It was reported that the Chinese tech firm had intended to unveil a new laptop as early as this week.

However, its consumer device chief Richard Yu told CNBC that it had become "unable to supply the PC".

"[It's] unfortunate," he added via a WeChat message to the business news network. He added that the product itself might have to be scrapped.

"[It] depends on how long the Entity List will be there," he wrote.

This refers to a list of foreign parties that the US Department of Commerce has judged to pose a potential national security or foreign policy threat.

Specifically, Huawei is accused of having committed bank fraud to evade Iran sanctions, and obstruction of justice, among other violations.

As a result, other companies with business activities in the US have been forbidden to sell or transfer technologies to the Shenzhen-based firm unless they have a special licence.

Huawei denies any wrongdoing, and has said that claims its poses a security threat are "unsubstantiated".

Self-drive cars

Huawei launched new smartphones shortly after the decision was taken last month.

But its inability to buy computer chips and other components from Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom - among others - appears to have hindered its ability to produce the new laptop in the volumes required, despite the fact it had built up stockpiles of parts in case such a crisis occurred.

In addition, there has been speculation that Huawei would be unable to license copies of the Windows 10 operating system from Microsoft.

Washington's intervention has resulted in some non-US companies breaking links too. The chip designer ARM, for example, which is UK-based and owned by Japan's Softbank, told staff to suspend business with Huawei because some of its R&D work is carried out in the States.

Despite this, the Chinese firm continues to pursue partnerships with overseas companies.

The Financial Times has reported that Huawei has begun working with Audi and Toyota among others, to develop self-driving cars. </s> Beijing on Friday accused the United States of spreading "lies" about Huawei after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the telecom giant was not being truthful about its ties to the Chinese government.

Huawei has been thrust at the centre of escalating tensions between the world's two top economies, with President Donald Trump saying Thursday the fate of the company could be included in any deal to resolve their trade war.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he was not aware of the "specifics" of Trump's comments and repeated that dialogue must be based on "mutual respect".

The Trump administration has infuriated Beijing by blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage and allegations.

Huawei has repeatedly denied that it works with the Communist-led government.

"To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo told CNBC.

Lu said US politicians have spread rumours about Huawei without providing evidence.

"These American politicians continue to fabricate various subjective, presumptive lies in an attempt to mislead the American people, and now they are trying to incite ideological opposition," he said at a regular press briefing.

The heated rhetoric comes as trade negotiations have stalled, with neither side announcing a new date to resume talks after they exchanged increases in tariffs earlier this month.

But Trump said Thursday there was a "good" possibility that the two sides will strike a bargain.

"If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade deal," he said, linking the company to the wider trade dispute.

Panasonic joins firms stepping away from Huawei after US ban

Japan's Panasonic said Thursday it would stop supplying some components to Huawei, joining a growing list of firms distancing themselves from the Chinese telecoms giant after a US ban over security concerns.

Japan's Toshiba also announced it was temporarily halting shipments to Huawei to check whether US-made parts were involved, in order to comply with Washington's new restrictions.

The moves came a day after major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets, upping the pressure on the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer.

In an official statement emailed to AFP, Panasonic said it had announced in an "internal notification" that it would "suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government".

It declined to comment on "other transactions that are not banned by the US".

Asked about its opinion about the news, Huawei pointed to a statement on Panasonic's Chinese website that said the firm was supplying Huawei "normally" and doing so "strictly abiding by the relevant laws and regulations of countries and regions where Panasonic is present".

Washington's restrictions affect products made fully or partially in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of its components.

Toshiba meanwhile said it had temporarily halted shipments to Huawei while it checks if they include US-made parts.

"We will resume shipments if we confirm our products don't use American-made parts," spokesman Takashi Ebina told AFP.

Last week, Donald Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk.

The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted.

The Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei.

The moves have prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world's smartphones.

And on Wednesday, mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they were delaying releases of Huawei handsets.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the US moves and said Beijing would "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington.

"The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Wang said Wednesday at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan.

Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, had been due to bring Huawei's first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had "paused" the launch.

The delay would last "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers... are going to be supported", he said.

The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure.

Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets.

And the BBC reported British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, would also cut ties with Huawei.

Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised "the pressure" placed on its suppliers, and that it was "confident this regrettable situation can be resolved".

In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country's number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei handsets.

And the country's top carrier said it would suspend pre-orders for a new phone from the Chinese firm.

While Trump's order effectively bans US companies from selling Huawei and affiliates critical components, US officials offered a brief reprieve this week by delaying the ban for 90 days to avoid major disruption.

Analysts say the restrictions could be seriously damaging for the Chinese firm, with the pullback by Google and ARM likely to be "particularly troubling" for the telecoms giant.

"How the US ban on business with Huawei will impact the Chinese firm's performance is at this point unclear, but what is clear to me is that its sales will be negatively affected," said Hiroyuki Kubota, an independent financial analyst.

Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade dispute between the world's top two economies. </s> The US has blacklisted Huawei, a Chinese manufacturer of network equipment and smartphones, for doing exactly what it demands of its own companies: Feed data to the government surveillance machine. Surveillance and authoritarianism are breaking up the internet and technology markets along Cold War lines.

The US has placed Chinese telecoms manufacturer Huawei on a blacklist of companies that supposedly threaten national security. Huawei is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, and the second-largest maker of smartphones, after Samsung. With 180,000 employees and $7-billion in profit on revenue of almost $90-billion, it was ranked 72nd on the 2017 Fortune 500 list.

The US decision effectively prohibits American companies from installing Huawei networking gear, or to export components to Huawei. This follows an executive order that didn’t name China or Huawei, but laid the groundwork for making such a trade ban possible. American officials have also told allies that it would stop sharing intelligence with them if they use Huawei or other Chinese technology to build out their next-generation networks.

The blacklisting could have significant consequences for Huawei. It will cost the company major customers, and cuts its ties with tech giants such as Google and Microsoft. It won’t be able to install the Android operating system or Google app ecosystem on its smartphones, for example (although there are pretty simple ways to get around such restrictions).

The move comes only days after the US and China failed to reach a truce in their trade war. US President Donald Trump, true to form, gave China an ultimatum: make a deal within a month, or face worse tariffs on all goods. Then, since trouble had been brewing over Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturers for several years, he added the Huawei punch for good measure.

This is the latest salvo in a long-running trade war between the US and China, in which the US is both the aggressor and the biggest loser. It was sparked because Trump appears to believe mercantilism, which fell out of fashion in the late 18th century, is a great idea.

Mercantilism was based on the notion that trade is a zero-sum game, so that if your trading partner gains, that means you lose. It aimed to restrict imports, boost exports, and protect powerful domestic interests against foreign competition. It used to be implemented by establishing colonial empires and keeping standing armies and navies at constant war with other great economic powers. Since these methods are nowadays frowned upon, today’s protectionist measures are largely limited to export subsidies, import tariffs, and occasionally outright trade bans.

These policies play well to electorates who lap up economic populism and nationalist rhetoric, but it actually harms consumers in the country that protects its industry. Tax experts expect Trump’s tariffs to reduce GDP, raise prices, lower wages, and decrease employment in the US. By strengthening the US dollar against other currencies, imports become cheaper and exports more expensive, which directly counteracts the hoped-for reduction in imports and increase in exports. Tariffs mainly hurt your own people.

I say Trump appears to like mercantilism, because he is hard to pin down on the subject. On the one hand, he keeps saying pin-headed protectionist nonsense like “trade wars are good”. On the other, he told G7 leaders – right after imposing tariffs against Europe, Canada and Mexico – that the world should drop all trade barriers, tariffs and subsidies and adopt free trade. Perhaps his trade wars are a gambit designed to prove how damaging tariffs really are, in the hope of convincing the world to agree to his radical laissez-faire plan, but that seems a lot like wishful thinking.

Huawei equipment probably does pose security risks. In March, a British oversight board released an annual report that identified ongoing security issues in Huawei products, and no progress made on issues identified in earlier reports. It concluded that it would be difficult to manage the risk associated with using Huawei products in UK networks.

In April, Bloomberg reported that Vodafone had found potential back doors in devices on its networks in several European countries almost a decade ago, but that it believes the issues to have been resolved. The company publicly opposes any action against Huawei, citing prices and delays as major concerns.

Dutch intelligence services also claim to have found a backdoor in a major national telecoms network which it attributed to Huawei, and said it could allow the company to access customer data and potentially pass it along to the Chinese government. According to a Reuters report, the agency said it is “undesirable for the Netherlands … to depend on the hardware or software of companies from countries running active cyber programs against Dutch interests,” naming China and Russia.

Huawei denies that the vulnerabilities amounted to back doors, and in any case were removed once the company had been alerted. Vodafone also denied significant elements of the Bloomberg story. It is unlikely that all the vulnerabilities have been resolved, however, and although there is no firm evidence that any equipment sent data back to the Chinese government, as alleged, it would be safe to assume so. It is also far from clear that the problems are not simply software bugs that one might find in the products of any other vendor. A journalist writing for Wired magazine seems to think Huawei’s troubles are merely due to software bugs that one might find in the products of any other vendor, but that view seems a little naïve.

The US, however, is supremely hypocritical about the possibility that the Chinese government is spying on communications. Of course it is. Who isn’t? The US and its allies certainly are.

The world is flooded with devices and software with backdoors that send private data to the intelligence services of the US and its allies. It is impractical, if not impossible, for an ordinary consumer to avoid having their data mined by those countries, unless you isolate yourself entirely, as the heroic whistle-blower Edward Snowden, who revealed the existence of US and British surveillance programmes, has done.

In 2013, long before Trump became president, Snowden’s disclosures proved that the US government has deals to pipe data directly from major technology firms, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Apple. Its spooks can peruse your emails, see your search queries, view your browsing history, trawl through your photos and read the documents you share. It can track your mobile devices anywhere, at any time, even when location services are switched off. It knows who you call and can read your SMS messages. It has agreements with financial firms like Visa and SWIFT to track your buying habits. It vacuums up vast quantities of data from around the world.

They exploit security vulnerabilities to hack into networks and computer systems and host fake websites to steal login credentials. They work with manufacturers to install backdoors in routers, and have bribed major security companies to build backdoors into their encryption software. They deploy malware to hijack your devices. They can use the cameras and microphones on your devices without you knowing they were ever there. Some companies – notably Microsoft – provide information on newly discovered vulnerabilities to intelligence agencies before disclosing them to the public, so the spies have a ready supply of zero-day exploits available to them.

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is limited by law from spying on American citizens. So is the British equivalent, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which operates similar surveillance programmes, partly funded by the NSA itself. There is a simple way around silly laws, however. The GCHQ legally spies on Americans, and the NSA legally spies on Britons. Then they “share intelligence”, under the agreement they have as part of the “Five Eyes”. The other members of this club are Australia, New Zealand and Canada. So laws designed to protect citizens in those countries from being spied upon by their own governments mean absolutely nothing.

Of course, outside the Five Eyes, everyone is fair game. Use an Android phone? The NSA has your number. Use an iPhone instead? The NSA owns you. Have a computer running Windows? The NSA is all over it like a virus. Have a computer running anything else? Don’t assume anything is beyond the NSA’s capabilities.

If you don’t think you’re worth spying on, you’d be wrong. Anyone in any position of responsibility has company information, or access to information, that should be confidential. If you’re a healthcare professional or attorney, or you’ve ever dealt with any of them, your information ought to remain confidential. If you’re a journalist, you need to be able to protect your sources. You can’t do that if every major government in the world reads your email. If your information can be compromised by government spies, it can be compromised by organised criminals. Sometimes, the line between the two is blurry. If you have money in the bank, or don’t want criminals to steal your identity to obtain loans in your name, this is a problem.

Government databases can be used to conduct warrantless searches to find people who, deliberately or accidentally, broke laws or regulations. Everyone does, sooner or later, so nobody is safe.

Private information can be abused to blackmail anyone into doing anything. Won’t inform on your business partner or family? How would you like your boss or spouse to know your porn preferences? Won’t stop agitating against the ruling party? How would you like your co-workers to know that you have just been diagnosed with an embarrassing disease? Speaking out about corruption? How would you like the knowledge you’re in arrears on your debts or municipal accounts, or you haven’t paid your traffic fines, to be made public?

If you’re blasé about government surveillance, consider China’s own social credit system. It is a dystopian model of totalitarian government control over everything people say and do. Offend anyone in any position of authority, and you might find yourself banned from public transport, jobs or even living quarters. And there’s nothing so uniquely Chinese about it that similar systems cannot be rolled out anywhere else in the world.

The US and its allies don’t have a problem with surveillance. They do it all the time, against foreigners and their own citizens, on a scale that is too big for most people to even comprehend. What they worry about is Chinese and Russian surveillance.

That is not unreasonable, of course, just like other countries would be uncomfortable with the surveillance networks of the Five Eyes.

Chinese and Russian surveillance equipment, software and techniques are being exported to countries around the world, including South Africa, along with those countries’ authoritarian vision of a sovereign, controlled and ring-fenced internet. We already see significant moves towards authoritarianism in this country, from requirements to host sensitive data within the country’s borders, to outright censorship of online content.

Europe is developing its own vision of the internet, which is causing significant friction with the US-based internet. Some US sites simply will not display content to European visitors, for fear of violating some EU copyright or privacy directive or another. China has long developed its internet independently, even creating domestic versions of popular social media, chat and microblogging platforms. It doesn’t care about privacy or copyright, but it does care about censorship and social control.

The fear of spying by foreign governments will increasingly fracture the internet and the technology market. Whether we’re consumers, network operators or government, the choice of which technology to use will depend on who we would rather have spying on us.

Countries with less developed technology industries will increasingly align themselves along the old Cold War lines, with either the liberal democracies of the West, or the authoritarian regimes of Russia, China and the Global South. Judging by its record of siding with the worst despots and dictators against the free world, I don’t trust the South African government to choose the lesser of these evils.

It is also not hard to conceive of a future in which the South African government mandates that equipment used in domestic telecommunications be locally produced. It ticks a lot of boxes: fear of foreign spies, the ability to insert domestic surveillance and censorship, stimulating a local technology industry, and political patronage deals for favoured suppliers.

As we saw during the isolation years of Apartheid South Africa, and as we’ve since seen with locally manufactured set-top boxes for digital terrestrial television or national broadband network projects, such plans will produce poor-quality products, high prices and broken deadlines. National security is a powerful excuse, but it doesn’t make mercantilism, or authoritarian government, any less harmful to ordinary citizens.

Want to watch Richard Poplak’s audition for SA’s Got Talent?

Who doesn’t? Alas, it was removed by the host site for prolific swearing*... Now that we’ve got your attention, we thought we’d take the opportunity to talk to you about the small matter of book burning and freedom of speech.

Since its release, Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book Gangster State, has sparked numerous fascist-like behavior from certain members of the public (and the State). There have been planned book burnings, disrupted launches and Ace Magashule has openly called him a liar. And just to say thanks, a R10m defamation suit has been lodged against the author.

Pieter-Louis Myburgh is our latest Scorpio Investigative journalist recruit and we’re not going to let him and his crucial book be silenced. When the Cape Town launch was postponed, Maverick Insider stepped in and relocated it to a secure location so that Pieter-Louis’ revelations could be heard by the public. If we’ve learnt one thing over the past ten years it is this: when anyone tries to infringe on our constitutional rights, we have to fight back. Every day, our journalists are uncovering more details and evidence of State Capture and its various reincarnations. The rot is deep and the threats, like this recent one to freedom of speech, are real. You can support the cause by becoming an Insider and help free the speech that can make a difference.

*No video of Richard Poplak auditioning for SA’s Got Talent actually exists. Unless it does and we don’t know about it please send it through.
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