The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made additional progress in its efforts to prohibit the sale or marketing of certain electronic equipment and devices made in China.
According to a press release issued in mid-October, the FCC says that it has successfully facilitated the removal of “several million listings” of “Covered Equipment” being sold on numerous e-commerce sites under its “Operation Clean Carts” initiative. The Commission’s initiative is intended to remove from the market certain equipment produced by Chinese producers, including Huawei, ZTE, Dahua, and Hikvision, deemed to pose a “significant national security threat to communications networks.”
In addition to removing listings of covered equipment, the FCC says that it has also obtained commitments from several e-commerce sites to adopt additional best practices to prevent future listings of such equipment. The e-commerce sites have also reportedly agreed to coordinate their efforts with the FCC “to monitor and prevent the unlawful online sale of Covered List equipment.”
“This Covered List equipment poses an unacceptable risk to our country’s national security and to the safety and security of Americans,” said FCC Chair Brendan Carr. “I expect all online retailers to do their part and comply with the federal prohibition on the marketing and sale of Covered List equipment.”
The FCC’s press release on the progress of its “Operation Clean Carts” initiative is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-415082A1.pdf.