FCC Declares Your Friendly Neighborhood Foreign Router National Security Threat

KEY POINTS

•In December, the FCC banned all future foreign-made drones and later extended this ban to consumer networking equipment.
•The FCC cited 'unacceptable risk to national security and U.S. persons' as the reason for prohibiting imports without exemptions.
•Existing users of foreign-made routers may still use their devices, and companies with prior FCC approval can import previously authorized products.

In a move no one saw coming, the Federal Communications Commission decided in December to ban all future foreign-made drones and then, fresh off that party trick, dragged consumer networking gear into their national security paranoia bonanza. Citing the enigmatic 'unacceptable risk to US persons,' they’re now policing your humble Wi-Fi routers like they're international spies in a cubicle. The ban applies unless the manufacturer miraculously lands an exemption—which sounds about as likely as my router updating itself without rebooting during a Zoom call. Thankfully, if you already own a foreign router, keep calm and continue streaming, because the FCC wouldn’t dare interrupt your cat videos. Companies with prior FCC radio approvals can still import their products, making it clear the FCC’s outsourcing paranoia budget has no limits.