Once again, America makes a decision that affects everyone, then they drop the mic and shuffle off, leaving Sarah Sanders to lie about it.

In response to the US crackdown on Chinese technology companies, Google cancelled Huawei’s Android license.

This means that Huawei users could find themselves without things like YouTube and Google Maps.

I can’t remember the last time I managed to find my way anywhere without GPS, so this could be a problem.

In more recent news, Sky reports that due to the backlash over the cancelled contract, Huawei has now been issued a temporary US licence, meaning it can maintain its networks and provide software updates to existing handsets.

The operative word here is “temporary”, so they’re not out of the water yet.

According to Business Insider, South Africans have responded to the crisis by taking to social media to request a refund for their Huawei devices.

Spoiler alert – this probably won’t work.

Experts say your network provider or the store where you bought your Huawei P30 Pro probably does not have a legal obligation to take back the phone and give you back your money. Not even in a worst-case scenario where Huawei makes radical changes to its software.

Instead the Huawei owners who took to social media to express their demands for a refund, are likely to be met with the phrase “force majeure”.

‘Force majeure’ is a term used to describe an event that is beyond the reasonable control of the company, and therefore not foreseeable.

The decision by the United States to effectively blacklist the Chinese company Huawei is a textbook case of force majeure, a typical contractual clause that guards against anyone being held liable for what would previously have been described as acts of God.

Or in this case, an act of Trump, which is about as predictable as that of an invisible sky person.

At this point, it’s not clear how all of this is going to play out. Trade negotiations could still turn it all around.

On the other hand, Limpitlaw says, a decision by the US government could mean Huawei users in South Africa lose functionality on their phones – and that would be their problem.

I guess that’s what you get for choosing Huawei in the first place.

Hang in there.

[sources:sky&businessinsider]