Smartphones made in China are giving US military officials a headache: despite being banned from official government use, soldiers can still pick them up from vendors at a number of US military bases.
Smartphones made by Chinese manufacturer Huawei are being sold through TKS, a US military concessionary company that operates at locations run by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). As such, soldiers can purchase them at US military installations — despite the fact that Huawei phones have recently been blacklisted from official use in most situations.
In a 5-0 vote on April 17, the FCC favored banning US government funds from going to companies determined to be risky to US national security, but the ban won't become final until another vote is held. US Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the “Defending US Government Communications Act” on February 7, which would ban US official agencies from doing business with Huawei, ZTE — another Chinese Telecommunication firm — and “any entity reasonably believed to be owned or controlled by China.”
AAFES says that the Pentagon asked them whether Huawei phones were being sold at US military facilities but did not tell them not to sell the phones.
“Should there be an official determination made by law enforcement officials that these phones present a security risk, the exchange will instruct its vendors to remove impacted products from their…
