Under-fire Huawei stepped up its legal action against sanctions imposed by the US government, asking a court to declare a law blocking federal agencies from buying its gear unconstitutional.

The Chinese company today filed a motion for a “summary judgment” as part of its challenge to the constitutionality of part of the 2019 National Defense Authorisation Act. This is a follow-up to its lawsuit against the act it started in March.

The company also called on the US government to “halt its state-sanctioned campaign against Huawei” because it wil not deliver cybersecurity.

The Chinese vendor filed the initial lawsuit in late March, challenging the ban on government agencies using its gear and seeking a permanent injunction against the restriction.

The act, which singles out Huawei by name, not only bars US agencies from buying the vendor’s equipment and services, but also blocks them from contracting with or awarding grants or loans to third parties that buy its equipment or services — even if there is no impact or connection to the US government, Huawei said in a statement.

Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, said: “The judicial system is the last line of defense for justice. Huawei has confidence in the independence and integrity of the US judicial system. We hope that mistakes in the NDAA can be corrected by the court.”

False security
Song said at a media briefing banning Huawei using cybersecurity as an excuse “will do nothing to make networks more secure. They provide a false sense of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we face.

“Politicians in the US are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company. This is not normal. Almost never seen in history.”

He added that the US government has “provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat. There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation”.

Addressing the issue of Huawei being added to a blacklist by the US Commerce Department two weeks ago, Song said: “This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it’s telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers.”