ZTE Corporation — Ethics Grade F

ZTE Corporation receives an overall ethics grade of F (12/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Telecommunications. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 40
• privacy: 5
• consumer: 30
• environment: 55
• humanRights: 10

Documented incidents (3)

• US Sanctions Violations (high, 2017) — ZTE pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by illegally shipping U.S.-origin items to Iran and North Korea. The company paid approximately $1.19 billion in penalties to the U.S. government.
• Smart City Surveillance Concerns (high, 2019) — Critics raised human rights concerns over ZTE's installation of facial recognition and surveillance systems in Guyana and other developing nations. Reports suggested these technologies could be used by authoritarian regimes to track political opponents.
• Kenya Bribery Allegations (medium, 2010) — ZTE was investigated for allegedly bribing officials at Safaricom and the Kenyan government to secure a contract for a national monitoring system. The controversy highlighted systemic corruption risks in international telecommunications bidding.

Documented good deeds

• Energy-Efficient 5G Infrastructure — ZTE launched a series of green 5G RAN solutions designed to reduce power consumption in base stations by up to 30%.

Ethical alternatives

• Nokia — Stronger ethical guidelines and compliance with international trade laws.