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FCC Restricts Chinese Companies from Phone Testing Process

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May 22, 2025, 10:38 AM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules that ban any company suspected of having ties to the Chinese government from participating in the process to approve new radio devices — including phones — for use in the US. The FCC already banned the sale of devices manufactured by such companies. To be sold or used legally in the US, all radio-transmitting devices must pass a series of tests prescribed by the FCC. But the FCC does not conduct these tests itself; they are conducted by independent, accredited private labs. The FCC will now limit which entities can perform this testing — and which entities can accredit them — based on "trustworthiness" (in relation to ties to the Chinese government). The evaluations of each company will be based on determinations made by the Defense Department and Department of Commerce.

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