Google removes Huawei's Android license

The US government added the Chinese company to a trade blacklist, and Google has cut major business ties as a result.

Huawei has been in the news a lot in 2019, since the US government has accused the company of using new 5G networks to spy on the US on behalf of the Chinese government, which led to president Donal Trump adding Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. to a trade blacklist last week.

It turns out this has had wider implications too, as Reuters reports that Google has now suspended business in some areas with Huawei, something confirmed by an alleged source that The Verge spoke to.

This also includes Google removing Huawei's Android license, with a Google spokesperson saying "we are complying with the order and reviewing the implications", referencing the recent blacklist of the company by the US.

"Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices," the Google representative added, but from now on Huawei can no longer use the Android Open Source Project, meaning they can't get access to Google apps and services. "Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google," the source said.

It's unclear just how severely this will affect Huawei moving forwards, but it adds to their list of troubles in 2019.