FCC expands ban on Chinese tech gear over security concerns

The FCC on June 26 barred the continued importation and marketing of certain previously authorized covered communications equipment that had been added to its Covered List in 2024 or earlier, widening Washington’s restrictions on Chinese tech gear. The move expands the agency’s 2022 ban on new models from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, and it lands most directly on public-safety agencies, government-facility security teams and critical-infrastructure operators that still buy surveillance, networking and communications hardware from those vendors.

The order reaches older models, not just products designed after late 2022, and it leaves untouched equipment Americans already own and continue to operate. The prohibition does not apply to equipment added to the Covered List in 2025 or 2026, including certain foreign-produced drones, drone components and routers. The restriction takes effect in early July under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.

The FCC first sought comment on the same type of import and marketing restriction in March, with Public Notice DA 26-294 covering equipment added to the Covered List in 2024 or earlier and setting a 30-day comment period; Hikvision opposed the effort in April, argued the FCC lacked statutory authority to revoke compliant equipment authorizations and warned of significant impacts across the security industry.

The latest action builds on a string of FCC moves against Chinese technology imports, including a December ban on new Chinese drones and a March ban on new Chinese-made consumer routers. The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the named companies did not immediately respond, and the FCC’s June 26 notice also cites an ongoing D.C. Circuit challenge filed by Hikvision USA in December 2025.