US regulator bans two devices over Huawei subsidiary’s chips

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned the sale and marketing of a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter because they contain chips from Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon, according to Tom’s Hardware. The publication describes them as the first two device bans under the regulator’s new chip-level rule.

The rule allows restrictions based on internal components rather than only on individual products or brands. Tom’s Hardware describes the change as closing a loophole for rebranded products that still contain parts from Chinese manufacturers deemed security risks.

Why the chip matters

Tom’s Hardware, citing The Verge, identifies the component in both devices as HiSilicon’s Smart Vision system-on-a-chip—a single chip that combines several computing functions. Huawei and its subsidiaries are on the FCC’s Covered List, which identifies entities the regulator considers a risk to US national security.

The chip includes built-in face-detection algorithms. Tom’s Hardware says the FCC’s concern centres on its neural processing unit, a processor used for AI features, as a “smart” component made by a Covered List entity.

The publication attributes to the FCC a concern that the chip’s AI could be used to monitor US citizens and log faces for foreign surveillance. That concern describes a potential use, not a finding that these two devices carried out surveillance.

For equipment suppliers, the rule means a different brand name does not put a product beyond the FCC’s reach: a covered chip inside the device can provide the basis for sales and marketing restrictions.