FCC blocks gadgets with foreign surveillance chips
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 14:44 · Archive
The FCC has blocked two gadgets containing HiVision chips, a subsidiary of the banned company Huawei.
The FCC has begun enforcing new powers to block gadgets containing computer chips from companies on its national security threat list. Two unnamed devices have been added to the Covered List for containing HiVision chips, a subsidiary of Huawei, which is already banned. These chips are typically used in home security cameras and dashcams.
The FCC describes the chips as 'foreign surveillance chips' because they feature 'built-in detection algorithms for human faces', according to HiVision's marketing materials. The new rules, which came into effect this month, allow the FCC to ban devices containing components from specific companies, closing a loophole where banned companies' products could be hidden inside other gadgets.
Intel has managed to secure an exception. According to Reuters, the company has been granted a one-year waiver for the foreign-made advanced robotics it uses in its semiconductor factories, which it argues cannot be sourced domestically. The FCC has kept these robots off the Covered List to avoid disrupting domestic semiconductor manufacturing. After the year expires, Intel will need to find alternatives or seek a renewal.
How it is being reported
- The FCC bans gadgets with 'surveillance chips' in — but Intel gets a waiverThe FCC continues to wield its power over the technology that is and isn't allowed to operate in the United States.TechRadar · 24 Oct, 14:30
- The FCC is beginning to block gadgets with ‘foreign surveillance chips’On October 13th, Brendan Carr's FCC gave itself a new power - it can block gadgets for containing any computer chip made by any company on its list of potential threats to national security. Today, it's exercising that power for the first time, blocking two gadgets because they contain "foreign surveillance chips," the FCC claims. […]The Verge · 22 Oct, 21:23
In this story: FCC · Huawei · HiVision · Intel · United States
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log
Comments (0)