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Citing national security risks, the Federal Communications Commission might ban electronics vendors from hiring Chinese labs to test their products.
The proposed rule targets how companies need to receive "equipment authorization" for products that emit radio signals, including phones, routers, and even some video game hardware. The process has long required companies to use certified labs to test their products for FCC compliance, including their potential for generating radio interference. However, FCC Chair Brendan Carr is concerned about the trustworthiness of labs based in China, or what he describes as a “foreign adversary government.”
“While the FCC now includes national security checks in our equipment authorization process, we have not had rules on the books that require the test labs conducting those reviews to be trustworthy actors,” Carr wrote in a blog post.
He cited Huawei, which is banned from selling and importing products to the US over its alleged ties to the Chinese government. However, "the FCC had allowed Huawei to operate its own test lab up until we took action last year," Carr says. "Trusting a Huawei lab to certify that it is not approving prohibited Huawei gear does not sound like a smart bet.”
Carr says the agency will vote on the ban at next month’s meeting. If the rule is adopted, the ensuing crackdown could be sweeping. In his blog post, Carr noted, “The FCC estimates that today, roughly 75% of all electronics are tested in labs located inside China.”
The FCC’s database shows 168 certified test labs in China, 111 in the US, and 114 in Taiwan.
As a result, "the Commission will also seek comment in a further notice on ways to boost our capacity to test and certify imported electronics here in the US,” Carr says. In the meantime, companies such as Nintendo, SpaceX, and Apple have been using certified labs in Japan, Taiwan, and the UK to test their equipment.