The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Friday widened its ban on Chinese-made telecom and surveillance equipment, extending restrictions to older models over national security concerns.
Security Crackdown Widens
The expanded order now includes legacy models from Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp., Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., companies that were first targeted under a 2022 ban on new equipment.
The ban takes effect in early July.
The FCC said the action “is necessary to protect national security by mitigating risks to the U.S. communications sector,” adding that Americans who already own the affected equipment may continue using it.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Pattern Of Escalating Tech Restriction
The move is part of a broader regulatory push. The FCC banned Chinese drone imports in December and Chinese consumer routers in March. In October 2025, it voted 3 to 0 to block approvals for new devices from flagged vendors.
Hikvision filed suit in December, challenging the ruling and alleging the agency exceeded its statutory authority.
The FCC is also weighing a prohibition on U.S. carriers interconnecting with Chinese telecom firms, a move that would effectively bar those companies from operating data centers on U.S. soil.
The FCC’s action comes roughly six weeks after President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, where high-stakes talks on trade, technology restrictions and geopolitical tensions dominated the agenda. The new restrictions also stand in contrast to the Trump administration’s earlier suspension of several tech restrictions on China ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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