US bans dashboard camera and wireless video transmitter under new chip-level security rule

FCC targets devices containing Huawei subsidiary's AI-enabled SoC, closing loophole on rebranded products

By LineZotpaper

Published23 October 2026

Read Time2 min

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first bans under a new rule allowing it to block devices based on the internal chips they contain, rather than specific products or brands. The bans, announced on 23 October 2026, target a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter because they contain a chip from HiSilicon, a Huawei subsidiary on the US government's national security risk list.

The FCC's new rule closes a loophole that allowed manufacturers to sell products in the US that contain Chinese components on export restriction lists by rebranding or repackaging them.

The two banned devices are a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter, both of which use HiSilicon's Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision system on a chip (SoC). HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei, is on the FCC's "Covered List" of entities deemed to pose a national security risk.

The Hi3516CV610 SoC is designed for surveillance and camera products, including vehicle dashcams and wireless CCTV systems. It includes WiFi, Ethernet, video encoding chips, an Arm Cortex-A7 processor, and a neural processing unit (NPU) for artificial intelligence features.

The FCC stated that the NPU, which it describes as a logic-bearing "smart" component produced by a Covered List entity, is the concern. According to the SoC data sheet, the NPU runs a built-in dedicated multimodal large model and transformer feature acceleration. This allows the AI model to track relationships between objects across video frames, identifying specific items such as faces, pets, human figures and parcels.

For consumers, this could enable a surveillance camera to distinguish between an escaped pet and a person stealing a parcel. However, the FCC believes the AI capabilities could be used for more nefarious purposes, including surveying US citizens and logging faces for foreign surveillance.

Huawei has previously been involved in controversy over AI chips. The company was accused of using shell companies to deceive TSMC into producing AI chips for it, violating US requests for TSMC to halt supplies to a list of Chinese customers. These and other incidents have led to prior product bans in the United States.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The FCC's new chip-level rule represents a major shift in US technology regulation, moving from banning entire brands or specific models to targeting individual components.
This change could affect many consumer electronics that use chips from Chinese manufacturers on the Covered List, potentially disrupting supply chains.
The ruling highlights growing US concern about AI-enabled surveillance hardware, particularly components that can recognise faces and track objects.

Background

Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant, has been under US sanctions since 2019, with the government alleging it poses a national security threat due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party and potential for espionage. The FCC's Covered List includes companies deemed to present a risk to US communications networks. HiSilicon, Huawei's chip design subsidiary, has been on this list for several years. Previous bans focused on entire product categories from specific companies, but the new rule allows the FCC to block any device containing a chip from a banned entity, regardless of brand or product model.

Key Perspectives

FCC and US government: The rule closes a loophole that allowed banned chips to enter the US market through rebranded products. The NPU's AI capabilities, particularly facial recognition, are viewed as a potential tool for foreign surveillance of US citizens.

Consumer electronics industry: Manufacturers of devices using affordable, advanced chips from non-US suppliers may need to redesign products, potentially increasing costs and limiting features. The rule could reduce consumer choice and increase prices for surveillance equipment.

Critics/Skeptics: Some may question whether the risk justifies a complete ban on consumer products like dashcams, arguing the AI features described are common in many modern devices and primarily designed for convenience rather than surveillance.

What to Watch

Whether other devices containing HiSilicon or other Covered List chips will be banned next.
How manufacturers respond, including possible redesigns or sourcing of alternative, non-banned chips.
Potential legal challenges to the FCC's new rule from affected companies or trade groups.

Sources

FCC issues first bans under new chip-level rule · Latest from Tom's Hardware

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe FCC banned a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter under its new chip-level rule.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Using this new rule, the FCC has banned two devices from being sold and marketed in the US for the first time: a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter.”
SupportedThe FCC is targeting devices containing an AI-enabled SoC from Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “As reported by The Verge, these devices were banned due to the HiSilicon Smart Vision SoC (System on a Chip) they contain, which features built-in detection algorithms for faces.”
Not in the sourcesThe bans were announced on 23 October 2026.
SupportedThe devices were banned because they contain a HiSilicon chip, and HiSilicon is on the FCC Covered List.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “these devices were banned due to the HiSilicon Smart Vision SoC (System on a Chip) they contain”
SupportedThe new rule closes a loophole for rebranded products containing components from Chinese manufacturers on US export restriction lists.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “closing the loophole of rebranded products with parts from Chinese manufacturers on US export restriction lists.”
SupportedBoth banned devices use the Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision SoC.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision is an SoC for surveillance and camera products.”
Partly supportedThe FCC describes the NPU itself as a logic-bearing “smart” component produced by a Covered List entity.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The NPU is what the FCC is concerned about, explaining that it is a device that contains logic-bearing “smart” components produced by entities on the Covered List.”
SupportedThe data sheet says the NPU runs a built-in dedicated multimodal large model and transformer feature acceleration.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “the NPU that runs a built-in dedicated multimodal large model and transformer feature acceleration.”
SupportedThe AI model can track relationships between objects across video frames, including faces, pets, human figures and parcels.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The transformer feature acceleration allows the AI model to understand the relationship between objects from one video frame to another, keeping “attention” between related objects: pets, faces, human figures, and parcels, as the data sheet advertises.”
SupportedThe FCC believes the SoC’s AI could survey US citizens and log faces for foreign surveillance.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “However, the FCC believes the logic-bearing AI in the SoC can do something much more nefarious, surveying US citizens and logging faces for foreign surveillance.”
Partly supportedHuawei was accused of using shell companies to deceive TSMC into producing AI chips for it.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Huawei already had a previous AI chip scandal , using shell companies to deceive TSMC into producing AI chips for them”
SupportedThe TSMC incident and other incidents led to prior product bans in the US.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “among other Huawei scandals leading to other product bans in the US.”