The Clean Network

The Clean Network was a U.S. government-led, bi-partisan effort announced by then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August 2020 to address what it describes as "the long-term threat to data privacy, security, human rights and principled collaboration posed to the free world from authoritarian malign actors." Its promoters state that it has resulted in an "alliance of democracies and companies," "based on democratic values."^[1] According to the Trump administration, the Clean Network is intended to implement internationally accepted digital trust standards across a coalition of trusted partners.^[2][3][4][5]

In December 2020, the United States announced that more than 60 nations, representing more than two thirds of the world's gross domestic product, and 200 telecom companies, have publicly committed to the principles of The Clean Network.^[6][7][8] This alliance of democracies includes 27 of the 30 NATO members; 26 of the 27 EU members, 31 of the 37 OECD nations, 11 of the 12 Three Seas nations as well as Japan, Israel, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam and India.^[9]

The term "Clean Network" was coined by U.S. Undersecretary of State Keith Krach, who initially led the initiative, which includes officials in the Treasury Department, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the National Security Council, and the Commerce Department. According to Bloomberg, Krach is credited with coordinating a variety of national and regional approaches to shape a more unified international project, relying on trust more than compulsion—a notable change in tone after years in which the Trump administration pursued a go-it-alone, "America First" strategy.^[8] On April 22, 2021, David Ignatius of the Washington Post stated that Krach's Clean Network provides continuity with the Biden administration's desire to get democracies together on the same playing field on technology.^[10]

Krach described the Huawei effort as a “beachhead” in a wider battle to unite against Chinese economic pressure in everything from investment to strategic materials that bears the hallmarks of 'good old fashioned' diplomacy, in contrast to a somewhat more confrontational style at the beginning of the administration.^[8] The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Clean Network will be perhaps the "most enduring foreign-policy legacy" of the last four years.^[11] Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian referred to the Clean Network as a "US surveillance network" and "consolidation of US digital hegemony".^[12]

Researchers have noted that the announcement of the Clean Network was met with indifference in many major European countries, among concerns that the initiative would fragment the internet, with many also skeptical of US claims that Huawei poses an uncontrollable security threat. Several European countries in the Clean Network have since allowed Huawei to build their non-core 5G networks.^[13][14] A December 2021 op-ed by historian Arthur L. Herman and former U.S. national security advisor Robert C. O'Brien noted that only eight countries joined the US-led ban on Huawei's 5G equipment, compared to the more than 90 countries that signed up with Huawei, including several NATO members and regional allies.^[15] Herman and O'Brien argued that the US have not offered a viable alternative to Huawei's network, and failed to utilize wide spectrum options.