FCC Bars Two Gadgets Over Huawei-Linked AI Chips

The Federal Communications Commission has banned two consumer electronic devices from US sale for the first time under a new regulatory framework.

The barred products are a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter. Both devices failed to meet compliance standards because they utilize a HiSilicon Smart Vision system on a chip. HiSilicon operates as a subsidiary of Huawei, which remains on the FCC's Covered List of entities deemed a risk to national security.

This action marks the first application of a rule that targets the internal silicon of a product rather than its external brand or model name. The new approach aims to close a loophole where rebranded goods containing Chinese components could bypass existing restrictions. By focusing on the chip itself, regulators can enforce bans without tracking every individual product label or regional variant.

The specific processor involved is the Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision SoC. Designed for surveillance and camera systems, the chip integrates WiFi, Ethernet, video encoding hardware, an Arm Cortex-A7 processor, and a neural processing unit. The FCC identified the neural processing unit as the component of concern. The agency classifies it as a device containing logic-bearing smart components manufactured by entities on the Covered List.

The chip's data sheet describes an Intelligent Video Engine that runs on the neural processing unit. This engine utilizes a built-in dedicated multimodal large model and transformer feature acceleration. The system tracks relationships between objects across video frames, maintaining attention on subjects such as pets, faces, human figures, and parcels. While this functionality helps consumers distinguish between a pet escaping and a person taking a left-behind package, the FCC argues the same logic-bearing AI could facilitate the surveying of US citizens and the logging of faces for foreign surveillance.

Huawei has faced scrutiny in the past for its AI chip manufacturing. The company previously used shell companies to persuade TSMC to produce AI chips despite US requests to halt supply to specific Chinese customers. That episode contributed to a series of product bans in the United States. The new ban extends this regulatory pressure to the internal architecture of everyday consumer devices.

The FCC's authority to regulate both wired and wireless interstate and international communications derives from the Communications Act of 1934. This legal foundation supports the agency's decision to target devices regardless of their specific connectivity type.