FCC Bans Foreign-Made Routers Over Cybersecurity Concerns

The Federal Communications Commission has added foreign-produced routers to its Covered List, effectively banning the sale of most new consumer routers manufactured outside the United States unless they receive specific exemptions from the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security. The FCC issued the update on March 23, citing "security gaps in foreign-made routers" as justification. The Commission referenced attacks by Chinese advanced persistent threat groups including Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon in its announcement. The ban marks a shift from the FCC's previous approach of targeting specific vendors, such as Huawei and Hytera in 2021. The new blanket prohibition affects nearly all imported consumer routers while exempting U.S.-manufactured devices like Starlink routers produced in Texas. Critics note the ban fails to distinguish between manufacturers with strong security records and those with histories of vulnerabilities. The Electronic Frontier Foundation argues the policy fails to address IoT and smart home devices, which are frequently compromised in botnet attacks. The group also warned that the ban could entrench existing market players and create problematic favoritism in exemption decisions. The FCC's action comes amid broader trade-related executive orders targeting foreign goods and follows previous administration tariffs on imported technology products.