FCC Bans All Foreign-Made Consumer Routers From US Market Over National Security Concerns

The FCC ordered a ban on imports of new consumer routers manufactured overseas, citing exploitation of foreign-made devices by China-backed hacking groups Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon. The order affects approximately 60% of the US router market, predominantly Chinese-manufactured devices including those from TP-Link. Existing routers are not affected, and manufacturers can apply for exemptions through DOD or DHS conditional approval. Critics called the rule a 'big swing' that could create supply chain uncertainty, increase consumer costs, and take years to implement effectively given the lack of domestic router manufacturing capacity.