FCC blocks sale of two devices containing foreign surveillance chips

Original article here

The Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday that it has blocked the sale of two devices in the United States this week after discovering they contained a dangerous foreign chip produced by an entity on the FCC’s Covered List.

The FCC’s Covered List identifies communications and video surveillance equipment, services, and other products from companies that pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security.

The agency said the items this week were a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter, which contained a chip produced by HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei, which is on the list.

HiSilicon advertises its chip as “designed for the surveillance market” with “[b]uilt in detection algorithms for human faces.”

“The FCC will continue to act with vigilance in protecting and promoting America’s national security,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement. “Video devices containing surveillance chips produced by Covered List entities pose an obvious and unacceptable risk to the nation and our people.

“I applaud the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology for their work and for preventing this potential spyware from obtaining the approvals necessary for marketing and sale in the U.S.,” he continued. “We will continue to act aggressively to enforce our rules and secure American networks.”

The FCC’s order marks its first enforcement action taken under the agency’s rules that took effect last week prohibiting authorization of devices containing smart components produced by entities identified on the Covered List.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.