Zenji Nakazawa

Today, the FCC took additional action to safeguard Americans and the communications networks we rely on. The FCC added consumer routers produced in foreign countries to the agency’s Covered List. This action follows a national security determination provided by Executive Branch Agencies. The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.” This action means that new models of foreign-produced routers will no longer be eligible for marketing or sale in the U.S. The determination included an exemption for routers that the Department of War (DoW) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have granted “Conditional Approval” after finding that such device or devices do not pose such unacceptable risks. Producers of consumer-grade routers are encouraged to submit an application for Conditional Approval using the guidance attached to the determination.