FCC bans new Chinese robots and solar inverters over cyber spy fears

The FCC officially proposed strict regulations prohibiting the import of new humanoid and four-legged Chinese robots, along with high-grade power inverters used in data centers and renewable energy grids. Official claims point to severe cyberattack risks, data theft, and an urgent desire to force hardware manufacturing back onto American soil.

The technical definition targets any machine with locomotion, obstacle avoidance, sensors, network connectivity, and a weight exceeding two kilograms. Under these sweeping criteria, even unreleased high-end robot vacuums could be banned from entering the country unless granted special government waivers, turning domestic cleaning into a national security nightmare.

Particular pressure falls on Unitree, one of China's top humanoid makers that recently partnered with Nvidia to run its machines on Blackwell chips. Despite assurances that data remains stored locally, the US Department of Defense already flagged Unitree as a military-linked entity, threatening its primary customer base among American university research labs.

The restrictions also hit solar and grid equipment where Chinese giant Sungrow and sanctioned telecom vendor Huawei dominate global markets. American officials argue that critical AI data center infrastructure cannot rely on power components capable of receiving remote firmware updates from abroad.

Washington appears convinced that unplugging foreign hardware is easier than building competing supply chains overnight. Banning vacuum cleaners and power boxes might soothe geopolitical anxiety, but leaving the booming AI infrastructure without basic electrical components will certainly test how fast domestic factories can actually spawn.

Source: Reuters