Telecoms operator Meo has decided to bring legal action against the Portuguese state, seeking 81.7 million euros in compensation following the exclusion of Huawei equipment from Portugal’s 5G networks, the newspaper Público reported on Monday (source in Portuguese).
The outlet cites information that will be recorded on the Citius portal, relating to proceedings brought in particular against the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the State’s Legal Centre, which were filed on 24 April this year with the Lisbon Administrative Court.
Meo, which is part of the Altice Portugal portfolio of brands, has taken this step because it believes it has been harmed by “administrative decisions” of the Security Assessment Commission, operating under the Higher Council for Cyberspace Security, according to Público. The company also stressed that it has suffered “special and abnormal damage” as a result of those decisions.
At issue is a state body which, in the first half of 2023, adopted a resolution highlighting the “high risk” (source in Portuguese) involved in using equipment from suppliers based in countries that are not EU, NATO or OECD members for “the security of national 5G networks and services”, as was first reported by the Lusa news agency (source in Portuguese). This applied in cases where, in addition, “the legal order of the country” in which the provider was “domiciled” or established allowed the government to exercise “control, interference or pressure over its activities in third countries”.
