FCC Blocks Dashcam and Video Transmitter Containing Huawei Surveillance Chips

The United States government has blocked two devices—a new dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter—from entering the market because they contain chips made by a Huawei subsidiary. The Federal Communications Commission used a newly active rule to ban the hardware, marking the first time regulators have targeted individual components inside third-party gadgets rather than just finished products.[1][2]

The blocked hardware relied on silicon manufactured by HiSilicon, a chip design firm owned by the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Because Huawei was added to the FCC’s national security Covered List in March 2021, its subsidiaries are also barred from supplying logic-bearing hardware to the American market.[3][4]

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the enforcement action on Thursday, October 22, framing the components as a direct threat. "Video devices containing surveillance chips produced by Covered List entities pose an obvious and unacceptable risk to the nation and our people," Carr stated.[1][3]

The agency did not name the specific manufacturers of the dashboard camera or the video transmitter. Instead, it focused entirely on the internal processor, noting that HiSilicon explicitly advertises the chip as being designed for the surveillance market.[2][5]

Closing the component loophole

According to the FCC, the HiSilicon chip features built-in detection algorithms for human faces. While facial recognition is a standard feature in modern consumer cameras, regulators argue that deploying such capabilities on silicon tied to a blacklisted foreign entity crosses a security threshold.[1][6]

This enforcement represents a significant shift in how the United States polices its technology supply chain. Since 2021, the FCC has prohibited complete devices manufactured by companies like Huawei or ZTE from receiving equipment authorization.[1][7]

However, a regulatory loophole allowed third-party manufacturers to build lawful devices that incorporated smart components from those same blacklisted entities. A manufacturer could theoretically build a drone or a camera in the United States while relying on a Huawei processor to handle the actual computing.[2]

The five-member FCC voted in July 2026 to close that gap. The updated component rules officially took effect on October 13, prohibiting the authorization of any device incorporating logic-bearing hardware from a Covered List entity.[2][6]

The rule applies strictly forward. Equipment authorized before the October 13 deadline retains its certification, and pending applications are exempt unless the manufacturer alters a smart component during the review process.[2]

The mechanics of the ban

The Office of Engineering and Technology caught the two HiSilicon chips during the standard equipment authorization process. Every electronic device that emits radio frequencies must pass this review before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States.[6]

Under the new framework, the burden of proof rests on the applicant. The companies submitting the dashcam and the video transmitter were required to attest that their products contained no covered components, a hurdle they failed to clear.[2]

The FCC’s ruling relies heavily on HiSilicon’s own marketing language to justify the ban. By quoting the manufacturer’s claims about surveillance capabilities, the agency bypassed the need to prove that the specific dashcam was actively transmitting data back to China.[2]

This approach highlights the skeptical reality of modern hardware regulation. The ban rests entirely on the identity of the chip's producer, rather than a forensic analysis of what the dashboard camera was actually programmed to do.[2]

Dashboard cameras routinely process video locally to record traffic incidents, while wireless transmitters relay feeds to nearby monitors. The presence of a surveillance-capable chip does not inherently mean the device was designed for espionage, but the FCC treats the supply-chain link as a systemic risk.

Expanding the regulatory net

Carr praised the engineering office for preventing what he termed "potential spyware" from obtaining the necessary approvals for sale. "We will continue to act aggressively to enforce our rules and secure American networks," he added.[1][3]

The enforcement action sends a clear signal to secondary equipment manufacturers worldwide. Companies building consumer electronics must now audit their entire supply chains to ensure no logic-bearing chips from the five major Chinese firms currently on the list—including Huawei, ZTE, and Dahua—are hidden on their circuit boards.[7]

This level of scrutiny fundamentally alters the economics of budget electronics. Manufacturers often rely on cheap, capable silicon from Chinese subsidiaries to power low-margin devices like dashcams and baby monitors.

Replacing those components with compliant alternatives from Western or allied nations will likely increase production costs. For the FCC, that economic friction is an acceptable trade-off for eliminating blacklisted hardware from American homes and vehicles.[4][5]

The agency has not indicated whether it plans to actively audit devices that were authorized before the October deadline. For now, the focus remains on stopping new hardware at the border before it can establish a foothold in the market.[2][6]