On October 22, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that its Office of Engineering and Technology had blocked a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter containing a HiSilicon component from being marketed or sold in the United States. The FCC called the action its first enforcement under component-authorization rules that took effect on October 13, 2026.
Which devices did the FCC block?
The action covered one dashboard camera and one wireless video transmitter. The FCC identified HiSilicon, a Huawei subsidiary, as the chip producer. Infobae identified the chip as the HiSilicon Hi3516CV610; the FCC announcement named HiSilicon but did not give a model number.
The FCC said the two products had not received the authorization required for marketing or sale in the United States. The action concerns authorization for those video devices, rather than a general restriction on Huawei products.
When does the component rule apply?
The FCC’s rule applies when a device contains qualifying logic-bearing hardware from an entity on the FCC’s Covered List and the device itself would be barred from authorization if that entity produced it. The Covered List is the FCC’s list of entities and equipment associated with specified national-security or safety risks.
| Rule element | Condition for application | Scope |
| Component | The device contains logic-bearing hardware produced by a Covered List entity. | The restriction concerns hardware and producer- or provider-based Covered List determinations. |
| Device authorization | The device would be prohibited from authorization if the listed entity produced it. | The component’s presence alone does not trigger the rule for every product. |
| Logic-bearing hardware | The order includes physical components using digital techniques and timing signals above 9,000 cycles per second, as well as specified radio-frequency components that process data. | The order’s component restriction is not a blanket rule for every part associated with a listed entity. |
That test makes the restriction narrower than a ban on all foreign-made products or all Huawei-linked components. The FCC order adopted on July 22, 2026, limits this component rule to qualifying hardware and the specified Covered List basis; it does not extend the restriction to software or firmware.
What happens to existing approvals and pending applications?
Equipment that had already received authorization may continue to be marketed, imported and used under that authorization. A qualifying application filed before October 13, 2026, and still pending on that date is exempt from the rule, unless a later amendment adds, substitutes or changes a logic-bearing hardware component. In that case, the application is subject to the rule as a new application.
What did the FCC say about the chip’s surveillance function?
The FCC cited HiSilicon’s description of the chip as designed for the surveillance market and equipped with human-face detection algorithms. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr characterized devices containing surveillance chips from Covered List entities as a potential security risk. Those statements explain the agency’s rationale for the authorization action.
Does this action affect Huawei phones on US networks?
The announcement concerned authorization and marketing or sale of two video devices. It was not a blanket carrier-network restriction on Huawei phones, and it did not establish whether a particular Huawei handset works with a particular US carrier.
