Welcome to the Tech Mem Right Home for Thursday, February 13th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough.

Today, the U.S. charges Huawei with racketeering.

Could the future of the Apple watch be modular?

Uber trials ordering an Uber via 1-800 number.

Interesting raises in the robotics and space space. And why quantum entanglement could lead to a truly secure

internet someday. Here's what you missed today in the world of tech.

Well, this just went even more thermonuclear if that's possible. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Chinese device maker Huawei with literal racketeering, alleging that Huawei and its affiliates

used confidential agreements with American companies to steal their IP, quoting Tech Crunch.

Wawa is being charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer influenced and corrupt

organizations act, the RICO statute.

The DOJ alleges that Wawa and a number of its affiliates use confidential agreements with

American companies to access those companies intellectual property only to then misappropriate

that property and use it to fund Huawei's businesses.

In addition to conspiracy, Huawei and the defendants are charged with lying to federal investigators

and obstructing the investigation into the company's activity.

According to the statement published by the Department of Justice, quote,

as part of the scheme, Huawei allegedly launched a policy instituting a bonus program

to reward employees who obtained confidential

information from competitors. The policy made clear that employees who

provided valuable information were to be financially rewarded."

End quote. Among the defendants is Meng Wangzu, the CFO of Huawei, who has been under house arrest

in Canada while facing charges of fraud, end quote. This literally just broke as I was about to head into the

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