The Federal Communications Commission is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment manufactured by a number of Chinese and Russian companies that have been declared as a threat to national security.
The agency announced Friday that it amended its equipment authorization program to prohibit the importation or sale of the identified equipment in the U.S., as well as their authorization through the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity process.
“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”
In connection with the Report and Order, the commission is seeking comment on possible revisions to the rules and procedures governing “covered” equipment authorization prohibition, as well as action needed on current approval processes. It is also soliciting opinion for potential changes to its competitive bidding program.
The companies involved were previously included in FCC’s Covered List of products and services found to pose unacceptable U.S. security risk. They are:
- AO Kaspersky Lab
- China Mobile International USA
- China Telecom (Americas)
- China Unicom (Americas) Operations Ltd.
- Dahua Technology
- Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology
- Huawei Technologies
- Hytera Communications
- Pacific Network
- ZTE Corporation
Subsidiaries of these organizations are also banned under the new FCC rule, which is being implemented under the Secure Equipment Act of 2021.
