U.S. Closes the Loophole: Washington Bans Older Chinese Tech Gear Too

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The New Order

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating communications networks — announced on Friday that it is expanding its ban on equipment from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua.

Until now, the ban only applied to new models designed after late 2022. The updated order closes a significant gap: it now also prohibits the import of older, previously approved models used in areas tied to national security. That includes equipment deployed for public safety, government facility protection, surveillance of critical infrastructure, and related purposes.

The FCC stated plainly that the action is necessary to protect the United States communications sector from national security risks. The new rules are scheduled to take effect in early July 2026.

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What Is Being Banned — And What Is Not

The five companies affected span the full range of modern communications hardware. Huawei and ZTE are two of China's largest telecommunications equipment makers. Hikvision is the world's leading manufacturer of video surveillance cameras and is partially state-owned. Dahua produces similar surveillance products. Hytera specializes in two-way radio systems used by police and emergency responders.

Americans who already own equipment from these companies will be allowed to keep and use it. The ban applies specifically to imports — not to devices already in private hands.

It is also worth noting what the expanded order does not cover: previously approved models of Chinese-made drones and consumer routers remain unaffected by this specific rule, although separate bans on new models of those products were already put in place earlier.

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A Pattern of Escalating Restrictions

Friday's action is the latest step in a years-long effort by Washington to remove Chinese technology from sensitive parts of U.S. infrastructure. The FCC first banned new equipment authorizations for all five companies in late 2022, after Congress passed the Secure Equipment Act of 2021. That legislation required the agency to stop issuing approvals for any device on its so-called "Covered List" — a register of products deemed to pose unacceptable national security risks.

In December 2025, the FCC also voted unanimously to block new approvals for devices containing components from companies on that list, and signaled it could revoke previously approved authorizations in certain cases. In separate actions, new models of Chinese drones were banned in December 2024, and Chinese-made consumer routers faced new import restrictions in March 2026.

Security researchers and former FCC officials had long warned that the original 2022 rules left a serious gap: devices approved before February 2023 could still be legally imported and sold indefinitely, even though they carried the same technical risks as newly banned products. Equipment from these vendors can receive remote firmware updates and transmit data back to their manufacturers — capabilities that raise espionage concerns.

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Hikvision Fights Back — and Broader Moves Ahead

The Chinese surveillance camera giant Hikvision has not accepted the restrictions quietly. The company filed a lawsuit in December 2025 challenging an FCC vote from October of that year, arguing the agency exceeded its legal authority. Hikvision has consistently maintained that its products present no security threat to the United States, and that the FCC's actions harm American businesses and consumers without any genuine security benefit.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the other companies named in Friday's order did not immediately comment.

The FCC is also examining a far-reaching additional step: barring U.S. telecommunications carriers from connecting their networks with Chinese telecom firms at all. If adopted, that measure would effectively prevent Chinese telecom companies from operating data centers in the United States.

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Why It Matters

The cumulative effect of these actions represents a fundamental shift in how the U.S. government views Chinese technology in its networks. What began as targeted restrictions on federal procurement has grown into a broad effort to eliminate Chinese-made communications gear from all security-sensitive environments.

Critics of Beijing's tech expansion have long argued that Chinese state-linked companies are legally obligated under Chinese national security law to cooperate with intelligence agencies — meaning that networked equipment from these firms could potentially be used for surveillance or sabotage at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. Washington's regulatory tightening reflects a growing bipartisan consensus that the risks are real and that previous half-measures left critical systems unnecessarily exposed.

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Sources:

1. Reuters – FCC bans imports of more Chinese technology goods (June 26, 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-launches-new-chinese-tech-crackdown-will-ban-some-imports-2026-06-26/
2. Federal Communications Commission – Prohibition on Authorization of "Covered" Equipment: https://www.fcc.gov/laboratory-division/equipment-authorization-approval-guide/equipment-authorization-system
3. Congressional Research Service (Congress.gov) – New FCC Rules Ban Authorizations for Equipment Posing National Security Risks: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10895
4. Foundation for Defense of Democracies – Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain (October 2025): https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/07/07/protecting-against-national-security-threats-to-the-communications-supply-chain-through-the-equipment-authorization-program/
5. Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University – FCC Bans Sale of New Devices From Chinese Companies Huawei, ZTE and Others: https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/fcc-bans-sale-of-new-devices-from-chinese-companies-huawei-zte-and-others/

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