By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday that major U.S. online retail websites have removed several million listings for prohibited Chinese electronics as part of a crackdown by the agency.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in an interview that the items removed are either on a U.S. list of barred equipment or were not authorized by the agency, including items like home security cameras and smart watches from companies including Huawei, Hangzhou Hikvision, ZTE and Dahua Technology Company.
Carr said companies are putting new processes in place to prevent future prohibited items as a result of FCC oversight.
“We’re going to keep our efforts up,” Carr said.
The FCC issued a new national security notice reminding companies of prohibited items including video surveillance equipment. Carr said the items could allow China to “surveil Americans, disrupt communications networks and otherwise threaten U.S. national security.”
U.S. agencies in recent years have taken a series of actions against Chinese tech companies, including telecom, semiconductors, vehicles and others raising national security concerns. This is the latest push to prevent unapproved Chinese electronics from getting to the U.S. market.
Earlier this week, the FCC said it plans to vote this month to tighten restrictions on telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies deemed national security risks, the latest in a series of U.S. actions targeting Beijing.
The U.S. telecom regulator previously named companies including Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile and China Telecom to the so-called “Covered List,” which bars the FCC from authorizing the import or sale of new equipment from those companies.
The agency will vote on October 28 to prohibit authorization of devices containing component parts that are on the Covered List and authorize the agency to prohibit the sale of previously authorized Covered List equipment in specific cases.
In March, the FCC said it was investigating nine Chinese companies on the Covered List including Huawei, ZTE as well as Hytera Communications, Dahua Technology Company, Pacifica Networks/ComNet and China Unicom (Americas).
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
The FCC previously barred some Chinese companies from providing telecommunications services in the United States, citing national security concerns.
Last month, the FCC began proceedings to withdraw recognition from seven test labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government, citing U.S. national security concerns.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Diane Craft)
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