The Federal Communications Commission has barred two devices from the U.S. market because they contain surveillance chips made by a Huawei subsidiary, the first use of a new rule that looks at the parts inside equipment rather than only at its maker, The Record reported Friday. For companies that buy cameras and other connected hardware in bulk, the action shows that a product from an otherwise acceptable brand can now be stopped because of a single component.
What Happened
The FCC said Thursday it would not allow a wireless video transmitter and a dashboard camera into the U.S. market, according to The Record. Both contain chips from HiSilicon, a Huawei subsidiary that markets those chips for the surveillance market with built-in face detection. The Record did not name the companies that made the two devices, and Huawei did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
HiSilicon is on the FCC's Covered List, a public directory of video surveillance, communications and other technology products the agency considers national security threats, maintained under a 2019 regulation. Until recently, the agency's rules did not bar otherwise lawful devices simply because they contained parts from listed companies. New rules that took effect Oct. 13 closed that gap by barring devices with smart components from those firms.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described the products as potential spyware, The Record reported, saying such devices "pose an obvious and unacceptable risk to the nation and our people."
Why It Matters
The Covered List has long worked at the level of brand names: buyers could largely comply by avoiding equipment sold by listed companies. A component-level rule moves the question deeper into the supply chain. Many cameras, transmitters and other connected devices sold under one company's name are assembled around chips designed by another, and buyers rarely see that detail.
For chief information security officers and procurement leaders, that means asking suppliers for component information on video and other connected equipment, particularly devices placed on corporate networks or in vehicles. For manufacturers that sell into the United States, it raises the cost of using covered chips even in products that carry no Chinese brand.
The action also signals how the FCC under Carr intends to use the new authority: quickly, within days of the rule taking effect, and against everyday product categories rather than specialized telecom gear.
What to Watch
How many more devices the FCC blocks under the component rule, and how fast. Whether the agency moves against products already authorized for sale before Oct. 13 that contain covered chips. Whether manufacturers named in future actions respond publicly, and whether Huawei comments on the decision.
