The Federal Communications Commission plans to implement a ban on the sale of all new Huawei and ZTE telecommunication devices over national security and surveillance concerns.
The regulatory agency has been circulating a draft order among its commissioners that would ban new equipment sales from the China-affiliated Huawei and ZTE on security grounds, according to Axios. Researchers have warned for years that the devices could compromise security, and the Trump administration took steps to regulate the companies.
The order will still need to be voted on by the agency’s four commissioners. It would be the first time the agency has moved to ban an electronics company on national security grounds.
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The order will also determine the scope of a ban on the sale of video surveillance equipment provided by Chinese companies such as Hytera Communications Corporation, Hikvision, and Dahua Technology Company.
The ban is not retroactive, which means companies can continue selling Huawei or ZTE products that the FCC had previously approved. New models that would require FCC approval would be banned.
The agency voted to designate Huawei and ZTE as national security threats in 2020, making it impossible for them to be purchased with federal funding. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr pushed in March 2021 for the agency to close the “Huawei loophole,” which allowed the equipment to be purchased with private funding.
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Biden administration officials probed the company in the last year over fears that the company’s telecom equipment was recording military drills or the readiness state of military sites.
