AIBRIEF
The FCC has added power inverters — hardware used inside data centres and solar installations — to its Covered List, the federal register of goods deemed a national security risk, alongside its earlier action on humanoid robots.
The Federal Communications Commission has added power inverters to the Covered List, a register of goods deemed a risk to US national security, extending the same security framework it applied to humanoid robots in a prior action published earlier today.
Power inverters convert DC power from sources like solar panels and battery storage into AC power usable by data centres and the grid. The FCC's stated risk model: foreign-made inverters could be remotely shut off, used to steal data, or be commandeered by "foreign government actors" for surveillance and cyberattack. The action blocks new FCC authorizations of the covered hardware; previously authorised units can still be sold and imported.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr framed the move as the agency doing its part "to secure America's critical supply chains." The regulator cited concerns that the use of robots made outside the US could allow "malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots."
The BBC contacted three major Chinese humanoid robot makers, Unitree, UBTech, and AgiBot, for comment; none had responded at time of writing. Beijing's embassy in Washington called the action an example of "politicising" trade and issuing sanctions on "groundless pretexts," and said China would "take all necessary measures" in response.