FCC Extends Ban to Devices Containing Banned Companies' Chips

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maintains a Covered List of products it deems national security threats. Under new rules that took effect this month, that list has taken on a different dimension. It already includes products such as DJI hardware, but the regulator can now ban not only devices made by specific companies but also devices that contain those companies' components. The first application of the rules followed quickly.

According to industry sources, two devices, whose names were not disclosed, were added to the list. Intel, meanwhile, managed to secure an FCC exemption for the robots it uses in its semiconductor fabs. The list therefore saw an expansion and an exception at the same time. The exception is not open-ended, however: Intel will need to find a new solution or reapply within a short period.

A chip inside the device becomes grounds for a ban

What the two added devices have in common is that they contain a HiVision chip. HiVision is described as an affiliate of Huawei, which was previously placed on the Covered List. Chips of this kind are typically used in home security cameras and in-car cameras. In other words, the ban targets not a brand directly but the component inside the device.

The FCC characterizes these components as "foreign surveillance chips" and says they offer built-in detection algorithms that recognize human faces. The capability resembles what security camera advertisements often promise: telling strangers on a property apart from family members and acquaintances. The regulator's rationale is therefore tied directly to the chip's face-detection ability.

For background, the Covered List already covered the hardware of manufacturers such as DJI. The difference under the new rules is that a ban is no longer limited to specific companies' own products and can extend to devices that include those companies' components. Which two devices were added has not been disclosed.

A one-year carve-out for Intel

Intel, for its part, obtained an exemption from the FCC for foreign-made advanced robots used in its semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The company argued that these robots cannot be sourced domestically. To avoid possible disruptions to the availability of domestic semiconductor manufacturing services, the FCC kept the equipment off the list.

The machines are known as Automated Guided Vehicles and, according to Intel, have been in use for roughly twenty years. The exemption covers software, firmware and hardware adjustments to models already in operation, not new models. That means it does not allow Intel to buy new robot models under this carve-out.

The exemption has a time limit

The exemption is valid for only one year. At the end of that period Intel has two options: move to robots with no foreign components on the factory floor, or reapply to the FCC to keep its robots from being banned. Which route the company will choose is not yet clear.

The development shows that the first use of the new rules touched both consumer devices alleged to serve surveillance purposes and equipment on a production line. In the Intel decision, the FCC appears to have put the risk of disruption to domestic semiconductor manufacturing services front and center as its rationale.