The FCC has continued expanding restrictions on communications and surveillance equipment tied to Chinese manufacturers that it considers national-security risks.
A recent FCC Covered List includes equipment from companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua. The FCC says this equipment can present risks to U.S. communications networks, critical infrastructure, public safety systems, and government facilities.
The restrictions have also gotten broader over time. In 2025, the FCC moved to close loopholes that had allowed some previously authorized devices and certain components to continue being imported or marketed. Then in 2026, the government expanded the crackdown further, including older models from several Chinese manufacturers that had previously been approved.
For home-lab users, the interesting part is that a lot of this hardware still turns up on the used market. Cameras, networking equipment, radios, and other devices from these manufacturers can be extremely cheap, but the regulatory and security issues surrounding them are worth understanding before putting them on a network.
The FCC’s concern is not simply that the equipment is manufactured in China. The Covered List targets specific equipment, services, companies, and categories that the government has determined pose unacceptable national-security risks.
FCC Covered List
A recent FCC Covered List includes equipment from companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua. The FCC says this equipment can present risks to U.S. communications networks, critical infrastructure, public safety systems, and government facilities.
The restrictions have also gotten broader over time. In 2025, the FCC moved to close loopholes that had allowed some previously authorized devices and certain components to continue being imported or marketed. Then in 2026, the government expanded the crackdown further, including older models from several Chinese manufacturers that had previously been approved.
For home-lab users, the interesting part is that a lot of this hardware still turns up on the used market. Cameras, networking equipment, radios, and other devices from these manufacturers can be extremely cheap, but the regulatory and security issues surrounding them are worth understanding before putting them on a network.
The FCC’s concern is not simply that the equipment is manufactured in China. The Covered List targets specific equipment, services, companies, and categories that the government has determined pose unacceptable national-security risks.
FCC Covered List