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Retail stores on military bases have been banned from selling Huawei and ZTE phones

It’s no secret that the US government is not a fan of Huawei or ZTE. Now, after disputes with both companies, the Pentagon has banned retail stores within US military bases from selling Huawei or ZTE phones after the Department of Defense stated that they could serve as a security risk.

Being manufacturers based in China, US government officials are worried that Huawei and ZTE could be asked by the Chinese government to create backdoors into their handsets or even track US soldiers. While both companies have denied these allegations, the DoD still deems the companies as potential security threats.

A Pentagon spokesperson gave the following statement to the Wall Street Journal:

Huawei and ZTE devices may pose an unacceptable risk to the department’s personnel, information and mission. In light of this information, it was not prudent for the department’s exchanges to continue selling them.

This ban stops retail stores on military bases from selling Huawei and ZTE phones, but it doesn’t prohibit soldiers from buying the company’s handsets elsewhere and bringing them onto a military base. The Pentagon spokesperson did state that the Pentagon is currently looking into sending out a military-wide warning about using phones manufactured by either Chinese company.


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Avatar for Justin Duino Justin Duino

I’m a writer for 9to5Google with a background in IT and Android development. Follow me on Twitter to read my ramblings about tech and email me at justin@jaduino.com. Tips are always welcome.


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