Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through the Equipment Authorization Program
Key claim: The FCC will no longer authorize devices that contain logic-bearing hardware from companies on its national-security Covered List, will force those companies to fully recertify any equipment changes, and will require online marketplaces to show a device’s FCC ID at the point of sale.
Abstract
(Rule · Federal Communications Commission) In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) takes further steps to strengthen its equipment authorization program against national security risks to the communications supply chain. The Commission closes a component-part loophole by prohibiting authorization of devices that incorporate logic-bearing hardware components produced by an entity identified on the Commission’s Covered List, where the device would itself be prohibited from authorization had the Covered List entity produced the entire device. The Commission also requires that any modification or permissive change to equipment by an entity identified on the Covered List undergo full certification, clarifies that its marketing rules reach any entity (including online marketplaces) that markets unauthorized equipment, and requires online marketplaces, subject to limited exceptions, to display a device’s FCC ID at the online point of sale. Finally, the Commission amends its definition of “critical infrastructure,” as used on the Covered List, and corrects two administrative errors in its rules.
Why this matters
The rule extends the FCC’s Covered List regime from finished devices to embedded logic-bearing components, closing a workaround where prohibited manufacturers’ modules could ship inside third-party products. Requiring marketplace disclosure of FCC IDs pushes compliance duties onto e-commerce intermediaries and gives buyers and enforcers a discoverable identifier, while the recertification requirement raises the fiscal and administrative cost for Covered List companies to keep any US-authorized equipment on the market.