HONG KONG—China’s Huawei Technologies Co. filed a lawsuit in the U.S. disputing its designation as a national security threat by the Federal Communications Commission, stepping up legal challenges in the country despite a change of administration in Washington.
The lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit asked for a review of an FCC ruling last year that the company poses a national security threat, and blocking American telecommunications operators from accessing a multibillion-dollar fund to buy Huawei-made telecom gear.
The lawsuit is the latest challenge by Huawei to the numerous actions taken against it by the U.S. over the past several years. The Trump administration took an aggressive stance against Huawei, blocking the company from accessing American technology and taking its case to allies that Huawei’s telecom gear poses a national security threat.
Huawei’s lawsuit filed on Monday said the FCC’s ruling in December exceeded its authority and was “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, and not supported by substantial evidence.”
An FCC spokeswoman said: “Last year the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a national security threat based on a substantial body of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous U.S. national security agencies. We will continue to defend that decision.”
