FCC blocks dashcam and video transmitter over Huawei chip

The Federal Communications Commission has barred two devices from US sale: one is a dashboard camera and the other is a wireless video transmitter. The agency is using its new rule for the first time to reject products built around chips from companies on its national security blacklist. The agency did not name the brands or models of either product.

The Verge names the chip at issue as the Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision SoC, a part that handles raw camera feeds for security cameras, dashcams, and related devices; The Times of India reports the FCC has not confirmed that this exact chip is in both devices. The Verge names the chip maker as HiVision, while The Times of India and Investing.com refer to HiSilicon; The Verge and The Times of India link the chip to a Huawei subsidiary, and Investing.com notes HiSilicon's Huawei ties. AliExpress listings reviewed by The Verge often pair the chip with a Sony image sensor, and sometimes include a lens already attached.

The FCC labels the part a foreign surveillance chip because the manufacturer markets it with the phrase "designed for the surveillance market" and cites face-detection algorithms. Huawei has been on the FCC's Covered List since March 2021. The FCC has not claimed that either product transmitted data to Huawei; the action is based solely on the chip's manufacturer.

The rule, finalized October 13, closes a loophole where a device sold by an unlisted company could still be approved if a blacklisted firm made its main processor. Under the new language, the FCC may reject any device that uses a logic-bearing component made by a listed company when the full device would have been barred had that company built it. Digital-logic chips running above 9,000 cycles per second are covered. Cases, wires, resistors, and simple battery cells are not. The change affects only new equipment applications, so already-approved products can remain on shelves. Online marketplaces must show an item's FCC ID. The deadlines are March 1 or June 1, 2027, based on a platform's level of control over the product. This rule targets only companies named on the list, distinct from bans on foreign-made drones and routers based on country of origin.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the products present "an obvious and unacceptable risk to the nation and our people." The agency has had a busy year. Since March it has also removed routers made overseas, power inverters, and advanced robots such as robot vacuums under the Covered List. Some critics ask whether those actions improve safety or mainly help certain manufacturers. The FCC says it will keep enforcing the component rules aggressively.