Brussels, July 12, 2025
The Free Press Forum expresses grave concern over the Spanish government’s decision to award a €12.3 million contract to Huawei for managing and storing data from legally authorized wiretaps used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Entrusting a company with deep and well-documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party with access to Spain’s most sensitive surveillance systems is not only a cybersecurity risk—it is a direct threat to civil liberties and freedom of expression. In a democratic society, the ability of journalists, activists, political dissidents, and ordinary citizens to communicate securely is a precondition for a free press and for democratic accountability itself.
China’s track record of mass surveillance, political repression, and extraterritorial digital interference cannot be ignored. By involving Huawei in the interception and storage of private communications, Spain risks importing the logic of authoritarian control into its own institutions. This move undermines trust in the neutrality and safety of national communications infrastructure and chills the environment for free speech.
While Spain’s Ministry of the Interior claims that cybersecurity protocols are in place, the broader context—including the 2017 Chinese National Intelligence Law that obliges all Chinese companies to cooperate with state intelligence—makes such assurances dangerously insufficient. Spain’s piecemeal, case-by-case approach to high-risk vendors lacks the clarity and strategic coherence required in today’s geopolitical climate.
We urge the Spanish government to suspend this contract immediately, conduct an independent security audit, and align its procurement practices with those of fellow EU and NATO democracies. A secure digital infrastructure is not merely a technical issue—it is a cornerstone of the open society.
Free Press Forum
www.freepressforum.org
