The Federal Communications Commission is the independent U.S. agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Its relevance to AI policy runs through equipment authorization: most electronic devices must receive FCC authorization before they may be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States, which makes the authorization process a chokepoint for hardware policy well outside traditional communications regulation.
Mandate and instruments
The Commission is led by five commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, no more than three from one party. Brendan Carr is Chairman.
The instrument most consequential for AI-adjacent hardware is the Covered List, established under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. Equipment placed on the list cannot receive new FCC equipment authorization. The list was originally populated with telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment from named Chinese suppliers; additions follow national-security determinations by other parts of the government, which the Commission then implements.
Robotics and power inverters (2026)
On July 28, 2026 the Commission added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices — defined as mobile robots including humanoids and quadrupeds — and connected power inverters to the Covered List, following determinations by a White House-convened interagency body (FCC Covered List addition — foreign-produced advanced robotic devices and connected power inverters (July 2026)). Carr said the Commission was "acting in lock step with our national security agencies." The action applies only to new device models and leaves untouched devices already owned, previously authorized models, and federal government purchase and use; conditional approval is available through the Department of War, and for inverters also through the Department of Homeland Security.
That approval route has been exercised repeatedly. On July 27, 2026 the Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issued a public notice granting SpaceX Services' Starlink routers a conditional exemption from the Covered List, running to February 1, 2028, following a Department of War determination that the routers do not pose an unacceptable national-security risk. Starlink joins Netgear, Adtran, Calix, Nokia, Sagemcom and others granted conditional exemptions since April 2026 (Source: mobileworldlive.com; fcc.gov).
The action is the clearest case to date of the equipment-authorization power being used as physical-AI policy. It reaches inbound finished devices, a category the semiconductor export-control regime — which governs outbound movement of advanced chips — does not address.
Chinese optical transceivers (2026)
The Commission is drafting a measure to bar US imports of new models of Chinese optical transceivers — the devices that carry data over fiber-optic cables inside data centers — four people familiar with the matter told Reuters in an account published August 4, 2026. Officials hope to publish the measure in 2026, when it would take effect, though the sources stressed the Commission could still modify or shelve it. As with the existing curbs on Chinese drones, routers, robots and inverters, the plan would ban all imports of new transceiver models and then exempt many non-Chinese suppliers, three of the sources said. Zhongji Innolight, which holds a 27% share of the global data-center transceiver market according to Counterpoint Research and was added to the Pentagon's list of alleged Chinese military-backed companies in June 2026, would likely be affected. Shares of Lumentum, Coherent and Applied Optoelectronics rose 7%, 11% and 18% respectively after the report. The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing "will take all necessary measures in response to any action that causes material harm to its interests"; the White House and the Commission did not respond to requests for comment (Source: reuters.com). See AI Data Centers, Export Controls (AI).
Relationships
- related: FCC Covered List addition — foreign-produced advanced robotic devices and connected power inverters (July 2026) — the July 2026 Covered List addition.
- related: AI Robotics, Semiconductor Supply Chain, Export Controls (AI).
- related: US-China AI Competition: Different Races, Different Metrics.