politics

It seems that ZTE can finally put the nightmarish few months behind it. Somewhat. Although the company and US President Trump’s administration just recently signed a deal that lifted what would have been a fatal seven-year ban, senators from both sides of the political fence wanted to block that deal by sneaking it into an upcoming law. Now it seems that the deal will be left in place after Republican senators decided to withdraw that clause in exchange for some other stipulation that both political parties could agree on.

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Yesterday, the European Commission hit Google with a record-breaking $5 billion fine for antitrust violations. There are actually a few different angles to the Commission's complaint, but to boil it down, it essentially claimed that Google used Android to cement its search dominance. Google, obviously, argued against the fine and announced its intent to appeal the ruling, and today the company finds itself with an unlikely ally: President Trump.

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ZTE’s nightmares may finally be coming to an end. Of course, it will still have to recoup its losses from both paying the US’ penalties and months of stopping operations but at least it will have a chance to. That is, if it gets off the ground at all. The US government just announced that ZTE has signed an agreement to pay an escrow and install a monitor. Once that’s done, the company will finally be free, sort of.

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ZTE is a Chinese company but it has found itself in the unfortunate position to need the US government’s permission before it can start operating again. That authorization has just been provided, allowing ZTE to breathe just a little bit. It is, however, a very small reprieve that will run only until August 1 as ZTE awaits the ultimate fate of its compromise with the Trump administration that is being blocked even by the US presidents’ allies in Congress.

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While not everything is Facebook’s fault, its recent high-profile scandal opened a can of worms and opened the doors for increased government scrutiny and pressure on social networks in general. This time, however, it might be those social media giants that are getting a taste of injustice as Uganda starts to impose a social media tax that is being painted as a not so subtle attempt by the ruling government to curtail citizens’ freedom of speech.

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Apple is adding a 2018 Midterm Elections section to Apple News, promising curated updates and exclusive highlights about the upcoming US elections. The news app will get a brand new segment and a banner highlighting it in the For You tab, the Top Stories tab, and the Spotlight tab.

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While ZTE is fighting for survival in the US, fellow Chinese company Huawei is also struggling in Australia. While the consequences of losing this battle is less likely to make Huawei fold, it is still a slippery slope that could see Huawei’s foothold in more markets around the world. Just like in the US, Australia’s rivaling political parties seem to be in agreement that allowing Huawei to participate in building the country’s 5G infrastructure would be tantamount to giving China backdoor access to it.

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It may have been painted as ZTE’s lifesaver but the $1 billion deal it signed with the US government may prove to be even more trouble. The agreement would naturally incur a lot of changes on ZTE’s part, but that is if it will actually push through. The US Senate has just voted 85 to 10 to pass an annual defense policy bill that, among other things, included a provision that would block the Trump administration’s deal with ZTE in the interests of national security.

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When Huawei was under pressure from the US government for its alleged role in state-sanctioned espionage, the Chinese OEM refused to bend a knee. ZTE, unfortunately, couldn’t afford to be as unfazed. The seven-year sanction imposed by the US government has caused the Chinese smartphone and network equipment maker’s operations to come to a grinding halt, which, in turn, prompted US President Donald Trump to swoop in to save the day. Now sources are reporting that ZTE has signed an agreement over the weekend that would finally get that export ban lifted, and it’s bending over backward to do so.

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Bad cop, good cop strategies are nothing new, but it's rare to see both roles being played by the same person. Some might see it as a change of heart, mercy, or even forgiveness. Others might pin it down on multiple personality disorder. Either way, US President Donald Trump has tweeted that he instructed the country's Commerce Department to quickly find a way to get ZTE up and running again just weeks after the same government signed its death sentence.

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This really shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, Huawei has been in the US government's crosshairs perhaps longer than ZTE. After the latter was slapped with a crippling sanction for violating the US' export sanctions against Iran, it was really only a matter of time before Huawei gets the same treatment. Huawei is now reported to be under investigation by the US Department of Justice for the very same reasons and, considering Huawei's luck, it might get the same verdict as ZTE.

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Huawei is probably thanking its lucky stars that it got off easy. The US government might be working to block sales and use of its products in the country, but it remains unhindered in making such products and selling them elsewhere, even indirectly in the US. Unfortunately for ZTE, it might be facing the worst challenge to its smartphone business yet. And while this single instance could be justified in some way, the sanctions imposed by the US government could pose problems for the entire mobile industry it left unchecked.

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