FCC bans first two devices under chip-level security rule

By Grace Kim

The FCC has banned two devices from sale and marketing in the United States: a dashboard camera and a wireless video transmitter.

They are the first bans under the commission's new chip-level rule, which lets the FCC restrict devices because of their internal chips rather than the individual product or brand. The Verge reported that both devices contain a HiSilicon Smart Vision system on a chip (SoC) with built-in face-detection algorithms.

HiSilicon, a Huawei subsidiary, appears on the FCC's Covered List of entities deemed to pose risks to US national security. The banned hardware uses the Hi3516CV610 UHD Smart Vision, an SoC aimed at vehicle dashcams and wireless closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems.

Why the HiSilicon chip drew scrutiny

The Hi3516CV610 combines these components for surveillance and camera products:

• Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity.
• Video encoding.
• An Arm Cortex-A7 central processing unit (CPU).
• A Neural Processing Unit (NPU), an AI accelerator.

The FCC's concern centers on the NPU. The commission said the Hi3516CV610 contains logic-bearing “smart” components produced by entities on the Covered List, bringing the chip within its device-ban authority.

The chip's data sheet describes the Intelligent Video Engine (IVE), which uses the NPU to run a built-in dedicated multimodal large model (a model handling multiple data types) and transformer feature acceleration.

Transformer feature acceleration lets the model understand relationships between objects in successive video frames. HiSilicon's data sheet says the system maintains “attention” between pets, faces, human figures and parcels from one frame to the next.

For a consumer, the stated potential is a camera that can tell a pet escaping from an unknown person stealing a parcel after a courier placed it. The FCC frames a different risk: it believes the chip's logic-bearing AI could survey US citizens and log faces for foreign surveillance.

What does the chip-level rule change for buyers?

The rule closes a loophole through which rebranded products could carry parts from Chinese manufacturers deemed to pose a security risk. Under the chip-level mechanism, changing a brand does not remove a restricted component from the agency's reach.

For sellers, the immediate market effect is a bar on selling or marketing the two products in the US. The broader route lets the FCC target further devices based on their chips, rather than the brand or model.

Huawei's earlier AI-chip dispute provides context. The company used shell companies to deceive TSMC into producing AI chips, going against the US request that TSMC halt supplies to a list of Chinese customers. Other Huawei scandals have also produced US product bans.

For buyers, the practical result is specific: two surveillance devices are off the US market, and a rebrand no longer provides a clear route around a chip restriction.