Chinese Manufacturer Says FCC Lacks Authority to Expand Import Bans

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2025 – A Chinese manufacturer of video surveillance equipment  urged U.S. federal regulators Monday not to adopt a pending order that would expand import and marketing bans on its previously authorized devices.

In a filing on Oct. 20, Zhejiang Dahua Technology told the Federal Communications Commission that the agency’s draft order slated for a vote at its Oct. 28 open meeting “exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority” and would retroactively harm U.S. distributors and resellers.

The proposed order would establish a process allowing FCC staff to prohibit the importation and marketing of previously authorized equipment now “deemed to be a threat to our nation’s communications systems,” without limiting continued use of devices already in operation.

In its filing, the company argued that Congress never empowered the FCC to restrict equipment “properly authorized” under prior rules, calling the proposal “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Contrary to the assertions in the draft, the Commission's statutory authority to regulate equipment under Sections 302 and 303 of the Communications Act is limited to matters relating to interference with radio frequencies; it is not a blanket delegation of power to control electronic equipment for any purpose whatsoever,” wrote Andrew Lipman of Morgan Lewis LLP, counsel for Dahua.

“Even assuming the Commission had authority to adopt these restrictions, the proposed rules are arbitrary and capricious because they do not require any showing of specific actual (or even potential) harm before the staff imposes them,” Lipman wrote.

Dahua maintains that its security cameras “do not need to be connected to the Internet and are often used on dedicated or local networks without outside access,” making them “inherently less capable of harming U.S. national security interests than equipment integrated into carrier networks.”

The FCC’s draft order, titled Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain through the Equipment Authorization Program, builds on rules the FCC first adopted in 2022 to block communications gear deemed to pose national security risks. 

Congress first set this process in motion when it passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, which directed the FCC to create a Covered List of companies whose equipment was deemed to pose “an unacceptable risk to national security.” That list now includes Huawei, ZTE, Dahua, Hikvision, and Hytera.

In 2021, lawmakers passed the Secure Equipment Act, closing a loophole that had still allowed those firms to obtain new FCC equipment authorizations even after being blacklisted. The FCC implemented that mandate in 2022, voting to stop certifying any new products from Covered List entities. However, that first order did not affect equipment already approved and circulating in the U.S. market.

The draft order now scheduled for an Oct. 28 open meeting vote would go further. It would:

• Expand the definition of “covered equipment” to include modular transmitters, components that allow manufacturers to add wireless capabilities to their products and can be built into devices like cameras, routers, or laptops;
• Clarify definitions such as “produced by” to prevent subsidiaries or component suppliers from circumventing restrictions; 
• Tighten compliance and enforcement provisions, including a proposal to require recertification when Covered List entities modify existing products; and,
• Establish the process for FCC staff to prohibit the importation or marketing of previously authorized equipment from Covered List companies, even if the devices were legally approved under prior rules.

The FCC also launched on Oct. 14 a nationwide enforcement effort targeting online sales of blacklisted Chinese technology, including products from Dahua, Huawei, and Hikvision.