FACEBOOK BREAKS WITH HUAWEI

Facebook will no longer allow its app to be pre-installed on Huawei phones as the Chinese tech giant faces the ongoing fallout of a blacklist of its services in the U.S.

While people who already own Huawei phones with apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram will not be impacted, the social media company confirmed Friday that new phones from the tech company will not come with the applications.

The news, first reported by Reuters, comes as the White House leads a campaign to block Huawei from doing business in the U.S., saying information obtained by the company could be handed over to the Chinese government.

The Commerce Department announced last month that it had added Huawei to its “Entity List,” which virtually bars the company from buying components from American companies without U.S. government approval. President Trump also signed an executive order declaring a “national emergency” that empowers the White House to bar foreign tech companies deemed security threats from doing business in the U.S.

“We are reviewing the Commerce Department’s final rule and the more recently issued temporary general license and taking steps to ensure compliance,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.