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Re: [BOARD #5526] Re: [TREASURER #5526] Re: managing Huawei accounts



On Thu, May 05, 2022 at 03:09:23PM -0600, Sam Hartman wrote:
> >>>>> "Paul" == Paul Gevers <elbrus@debian.org> writes:
> 
>     Paul> I fear my legal language is just not good enough. What are you
>     Paul> afraid of? And are you already afraid of that in the current
>     Paul> situation where we are already using the Huawei provided
>     Paul> workers or only if we went ahead and we have the credits
>     Paul> assigned to a Debian TO?
> 
> I think one of the worst cases would be that the US government argues
> that Debian has a nexus in the US either through SPI or because the US
> government views Debian as a general partnership with US partners.
> Then the US government might be upset if Debian engaged in a contractual
> relationship with Huawei.

Yes, this is my concern.

> I think there is some risk with today's situation.
> I have no expertise in this area of law at all, but agree with Ross that
> it's worth seeking legal advice  to understand the impact on US and
> European members before going forward even if we find a way to go
> forward.

I also don't have any expertise - but sanctions sound really scary.  I'd
want to understand:
- what's the liability due to the current situation?
- does that increase if Debian holds accounts with Huawei Cloud?
- is the liability civil or criminal?
- would we avoid liability if no US-based members or TOs are involved?

Ross


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