Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
FBI, CIA, and NSA chiefs advise against using HUAWEI and ZTE phones (Updated)
June 12, 2025
Six US intelligence chiefs, including those from the FBI, CIA and NSA, have advised against using HUAWEI and ZTE phones. The news arrives viaCNBC, which says the heads told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that they wouldn’t recommend the products to private citizens.
“[We are] deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information. And it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”
Intelligence chiefs also reportedly praised the “measured resistance” of American telecom companies against Chinese smartphone vendors.
“This is a challenge I think that is only going to increase, not lessen over time for us,” said NSA director Adm. Michael Rogers. “You need to look long and hard at companies like this.”
Meanwhile, US lawmakers also recentlyproposed a billthat would ban the use of HUAWEI and ZTE telecoms equipment in the US.
The news follows reports that US intelligence recentlyreiterated concernsover HUAWEI’s ties to the Chinese government. AT&T andVerizonare both believed to have pulled out of deals with HUAWEI over the allegations; Richard Yu, CEO of HUAWEI’s consumer products division, called the cancellation of the AT&T partnership a “big loss for consumers.”
Subsequently, a HUAWEI spokesman providedCNBCwith the following statement on the matter:
Update (02/15):A ZTE USA spokesperson sent us the following statement in response to the report.
We’ve previously taken adeep diveinto what’s really going on behind these moves—check it out at the previous link.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
