FCC blocks two devices built with HiSilicon surveillance chips

Past-week coverage · Original source published 2026-10-23.

The FCC said it won't allow two devices built with surveillance chips from HiSilicon, a Huawei subsidiary, into the U.S. market. The agency described the move as its first ban of its kind since tougher rules took effect on October 13.

The blocked items are a wireless video transmitter and a dashboard camera. According to the FCC, the chips are marketed as "designed for the surveillance market" with built-in detection algorithms for human faces.

The new rules bar devices containing smart components made by companies on the agency's covered list, a public directory it maintains under a 2019 regulation. HiSilicon is on that list. Before the change, FCC rules did not prohibit "otherwise lawful devices" from including parts made by covered-list entities, the agency said.

Chairman Brendan Carr called the products potential spyware, saying video devices with surveillance chips from covered-list companies pose "an obvious and unacceptable risk to the nation and our people." Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why it matters: The decision shifts the agency's focus from finished products to the components inside them, which could affect importers and buyers of video gear built around covered-list silicon.

For defenders: Organizations that buy video surveillance hardware should check whether components come from covered-list suppliers, since a device's brand alone may not reflect where its chips originate.