East Michigan News

Today, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party reached out to the Eclipse Foundation with concerns about its support for Huawei's operating systems, HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony. Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) have raised questions about how the non-profit ensures sensitive information is protected from access by the Chinese Communist Party.

Huawei's HarmonyOS and OpenHarmony serve as alternatives to existing mobile and desktop operating systems like Android, iOS, and Windows. These systems are also designed for use in various smart devices beyond smartphones and computers. The lawmakers expressed concern over Huawei's influence on these projects, especially given that a significant portion of OpenHarmony's code comes from Huawei.

Chairman Moolenaar stated, "HarmonyOS is developed and owned by Huawei which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party—plain and simple. It gives Beijing control over the software running on phones, cars, and smart devices around the world."

Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi added, “We should not let the wolf of Huawei into our henhouse. Rather than being reactive once HarmonyOS and Open Harmony are embedded in devices around the world, we should be proactive and make sure American operating systems continue to be the global leaders.”

The letter sent to Eclipse Foundation included several inquiries such as what technical mechanisms exist within OpenAtom and OpenHarmony to mitigate Huawei’s influence on development and security. It also questioned whether a comprehensive third-party audit of their codebase has been commissioned to assess potential exploitation risks by state actors like China.

"We are actively working to encourage the global community to utilize trusted operating systems, which certainly does not include any operating system affiliated with Huawei. Organizations like the Eclipse Foundation have a critical role to play in upholding the integrity and security of the global digital ecosystem," concluded Moolenaar in his statement.