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United States Executive Order on Using Certain Telecommunications Equipment; Partial Ban on Facial Recognition Systems; Flying Taxi Involve Issues of Security, Privacy, and Technology
Aired May 17, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi I`m Carl Azuz and welcome to CNN 10. After today`s broadcast we have two weeks left in our 2019 winter/spring season.
After that we`ll be off the air until Monday, August 12th. First story, an Executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump that will stop American
companies from using certain telecommunications equipment. The president says anything that could be a risk to U.S. national security is off limits.
There`s this company in China named Huawei. It`s the largest provider of telecom equipment in the world. The U.S. government is concerned that the
Chinese government could use Huawei`s equipment to spy on other countries.
And though the White House did not say it was specifically targeting China and Huawei with the new Executive order, the U.S. Commerce Department later
added Huawei to the list of companies that could be undermining American interests. So there`s no doubt that Huawei is covered by this Executive
order. Dozens of small and rural wireless carriers in the U.S. currently use Huawei equipment. So they`re trying to find out how this will effect
them going forward. The Chinese company says the order will put an obstacle in the roll out of 5G wireless technology in America and that it
would hurt American businesses and consumers.
But trade experts say this could hurt China too because Huawei gives a lot of the parts it uses from American companies like Qualcomm and Intel and
this order could make it harder for Huawei to get those parts. So the impact on 5G could be felt on both sides of the Pacific. This is happening
as the U.S. and China face off in an escalating trade dispute and it`s seen as a way for the American government to pressure the Chinese government
over that. The White House says the Executive order is part of President Trump`s commitment to keep American networks safe. But China says the U.S.
actions are wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A counter attack from Chinese tech giant Huawei. It`s billionaire founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei sat down with CNN for a rare
interview with a clear message. Huawei is not the national security threat the Trump Administration says it is.
REN ZHENGFEI, HUAWEI FOUNDER AND CEO TRANSLATED: His tactics are wrong. If he intimidates a country today, threatens a company tomorrow or
(inaudible) arrests someone than no one would dare invest in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huawei, China`s largest telecom company, is facing an all out assault by the U.S. and in Europe. Federal prosecutors have
accused it of stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile and violating sanctions on Iran which all lead to the arrest of Ren`s daughter, Huawei`s CFO, Meng
Wanzhou in Canada. But chief among U.S. concerns that Beijing could use Huawei to harm U.S. national and economic security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prosperity that drives our economic security is inherently linked to our national security and the immense influence that
the Chinese government holds over Chinese corporations like Huawei represents a threat to both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI also says they`ve obtained emails revealing that Huawei offered bonuses to employees based on the value of information
they stole from other companies around the world. The U.S. has banned Huawei products from use in Federal agencies and 5G networks. Ren says
that`s un-Constitutional. Huawei is suing the U.S. government over the ban. If the United States clearly feels that Huawei products are a national
security threat, does the United States not have a - - a legitimate right to protect its own interests?
ZHENGFEI TRANSLATED: They have to have evidence. Everybody in the world is talking about cybersecurity and they are singling out Huawei. What
about Ericson? What about Sysco? Don`t they have cybersecurity issues? Why is Huawei being singled out? There`s no Huawei equipment in the U.S.
networks. Has that made the U.S. networks totally safe? If not, how can they tell other countries that your networks would be safe without Huawei?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the U.S. hasn`t produced public evidence of Huawei spying on China`s behalf but says it could easily happen. If
Beijing demanded access to Huawei equipment, the U.S. says the company couldn`t say no. Ren says, not true.
ZHENGFEI TRANSLATED: I`d rather shut down the company. In our 33 year history we have never received such requests. If there are future
requests, I`m making it clear today. I`ll firmly reject them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That hasn`t stopped the U.S. from lobbying governments to shun Huawei. A huge player in building up 5G, the next generation of
mobile networks worldwide. The U.S. told Germany that if it uses Huawei 5G equipment, it would limit intelligence sharing between the countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these U.S. cities was founded in 1776? Dover, Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New Orleans, Louisiana; or San
Francisco, California. The mission of San Francisco of Assisi was founded on June 29th, 1776 shortly before the Declaration of Independence was made.
Despite being one of the most technologically savvy cities in America, San Francisco is banning its government from using facial recognition
technology. It`s the first city in the U.S. to do that. Facial recognition systems are becoming more and more popular. They`re used at
police departments, concert venues, homes, stores and schools. They`re even used on some Smartphones. The technology allows computers to compare
facial features caught on camera with the features of faces stored in a database and those may include mug shots of suspects or criminals. People
who support the use of this technology say it can help prevent crime and make communities safer. People who oppose it say it`s not always accurate
and it could be abused to track people when they`re out in public.
San Francisco`s police department doesn`t currently use facial recognition technology but the new rule will forbid that in the future. And as far as
the surveillance technology that`s already in place goes, police will have to get permission from the city before they can use that. There are
exceptions to the new law. The technology will be allowed at San Francisco International Airport and at the Port of San Francisco and businesses and
homes that have cameras installed will still be allowed to use those, in fact police could still use information from these private cameras in a
criminal investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For 10 out of 10 today, a bar has been raised in the art world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have it, so $80 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: That`s 80, with a zero and it works out to more than $91 million once you add the fees. That is the most money that a living artists work
has ever sold for at an auction and this is the work. A stainless steel bunny inspired by a balloon toy. There were actually a few of these made.
This was the last one that was held privately, the others are in museums. The name of Jeff Koons sculpture, rabbit.
And that`s not "bunny" money, it`s a sum with more "merit". You`d think that for that fee it would be 24 "carrot". It doesn`t eat. It doesn`t
hop. It`s ears ain`t soft and they ain`t floppy and it has no cottontail or code or triplet sister "Mopsy". Even certain multi-billionaires would
"hop" away and never drop the price of a new island on the medal "hasenpfeffer". But if you dare care for a "hare" enough to spend like
that, must be magic pulling money like a "rabbit from a hat". I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10 and Fridays are awesome.
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