Huawei, ZTE Seek Reversal of FCC Bans, Citing APA Violations

Reverse the FCC Public Safety Bureau’s July designation of Huawei and ZTE as a national security threat to communications networks and the communications supply chain and terminate the designation proceedings (see 2006300078), the Chinese companies told the FCC separately. “The Bureau had no authority to enter the final designation or even conduct these proceedings,” said a Huawei filing posted Friday in docket 19-351: The bureau “violated Commission precedent and the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to support its final designation by a preponderance of actual, reliable evidence in the administrative record. ... The Bureau largely ignored or failed to meaningfully address extensive evidence that Huawei is a leader in developing and implementing cybersecurity measures, and that it is not controlled or unduly influenced by the Chinese government.” The designation was “infected by unconstitutional congressional pressure and the Commission’s unconstitutional prejudgment against Huawei,” the company said. “The Bureau erred in its overly-broad application of the Supply Chain Security Order, contradicting the intent of Congress as codified in the Secure Networks Act,” ZTE said in docket 19-352: It “erred in not considering all available evidence and in concluding that ZTE did not dispute its assertions.”