The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prepared to argue for opposite sides in a Qualcomm fine appeal, Financial Times (FT) reported, with the former expected to claim a harsh levy would compromise national security.

FT reported the DoJ will support Qualcomm’s appeal against a judgement made in May 2019, which ruled the company had severely hampered competition in the LTE premium modem chip market.

The DoJ reportedly believes a decision damaging Qualcomm could hamper US national security by weakening the company against global 5G competitors, specifically those in China.

Having made the original complaint, the FTC will take the other stand on Thursday (13 February) and argue for the appeal to be rejected.

Qualcomm is no stranger to legal controversy, with the company currently being investigated by the European Commission again, having already lost and appealed two high-profile lawsuits brought on the continent.

It also faced actions in a number of other markets related to competition and its licensing practices brought by both regulators and competitors.