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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission expanded its restrictions on Chinese telecommunications and surveillance equipment, banning the import and sale of certain products from companies on the FCC Covered List, including Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua. The move closes a loophole that had allowed some previously authorized or older models to continue being sold, with regulators citing national security and cybersecurity concerns tied to unpatched vulnerabilities, outdated firmware, insecure protocols, and potential unauthorized data access or surveillance capabilities.
The ban applies to equipment such as routers, base stations, video monitoring systems, and other network infrastructure components used across communications networks, government facilities, critical infrastructure, and public safety environments. Already deployed devices are not subject to immediate removal, and some existing inventory may continue to be used, while the FCC is also considering further limits on U.S. telecom interconnection with Chinese carriers that could restrict those firms' ability to manage U.S. data centers.
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In 2022, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned new telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua on national security grounds. This earlier action became the basis for the later expansion of restrictions.
On 2026-06-26, the FCC announced a broader ban on the import and sale of certain Chinese-made telecommunications and surveillance equipment from firms on its Covered List, including Huawei, ZTE, and Hikvision. The rule closed a loophole that had allowed some older previously authorized equipment to continue being sold, while not requiring immediate removal of already deployed devices.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has enacted a ban on the import and approval of new foreign-made drones and their critical components, citing significant national security risks. This decision, effective immediately, adds unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and related parts produced in foreign countries to the FCC's Covered List, which already includes companies like Kaspersky, ZTE, and Huawei. The ban specifically targets products from major Chinese manufacturers such as DJI and Autel Robotics, preventing the sale of their latest models in the U.S. while allowing continued use and sale of previously approved devices. The FCC's move follows recommendations from an Executive Branch interagency body with national security expertise and is supported by recent legislative actions, including the Countering CCP Drones Act within the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The FCC and U.S. lawmakers argue that foreign-made drones and their components pose unacceptable risks, including the potential for persistent surveillance, data exfiltration, and destructive operations over U.S. territory, especially during high-profile events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics. The ban covers a wide range of UAS components, such as data transmission devices, communications systems, flight controllers, and smart batteries. The FCC emphasized that this action is intended to safeguard American airspace sovereignty and reduce the risk of direct drone attacks, unauthorized surveillance, and other homeland security threats posed by foreign-manufactured drone technology.
Jun 29, 2026
The FCC has added all new foreign-made consumer routers to its **Covered List**, blocking their import and sale in the United States after a White House-led interagency review found they pose an unacceptable national security and public safety risk. U.S. officials said overseas-manufactured routers could be exploited to disrupt the economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense, and linked the concern to activity associated with **Volt Typhoon**, **Flax Typhoon**, and **Salt Typhoon**, which have targeted U.S. networks and infrastructure. The restrictions apply to new devices rather than routers already authorized for sale, meaning existing products can continue to be imported, sold, and used for now. Foreign manufacturers may still seek approval, but must provide detailed disclosures on ownership, supply chains, software and firmware provenance, and any plans to shift critical component production to the United States. The move is expected to tighten availability of new router models and raise costs, while critics argue it does not solve broader router security problems such as insecure firmware, weak patching, compromised update systems, and supply-chain exposure that can persist regardless of where hardware is assembled.
Jun 29, 2026
The FCC issued new rules restricting routers produced in foreign countries unless they receive **Conditional Approval** from the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security, according to discussion citing FCC documentation and the agency’s supply chain covered list. The policy was described as limiting use of foreign-made networking equipment while creating an exception process tied to U.S. government review and commitments around domestic manufacturing. The move drew criticism on the NANOG mailing list, where operators argued that few routers are truly manufactured in the United States and that assembly location does little to improve security compared with software provenance and supply-chain assurance. Participants also linked the policy debate to a recent U.S. law enforcement disruption of major IoT DDoS botnets that the Department of Justice called the world’s largest, crediting the FBI Alaska field office and network operators for helping dismantle infrastructure behind record-breaking attacks against victims worldwide.
Jun 29, 2026