FCC Blocks Two Gadgets Over Chips It Calls Foreign Surveillance Threats

The Federal Communications Commission has used a power it granted itself in October to block devices containing chips from companies on its national security threat list. This marks the first time the agency has exercised that authority. The FCC says the two gadgets contained foreign surveillance chips, though it has not publicly identified which devices were blocked. The chip named by the agency is a HiVision Hi3516CV610 system-on-chip, which converts a raw camera sensor into functions like home security cameras or dashcams. The full details of the action had not been independently confirmed at the time of reporting.