U.S. lawmakers are intensifying pressure on Chinese technology through a bipartisan bill, the Communications and Technology Transparency Act, which expands the FCC's authority to block Chinese tech. Concurrently, Lenovo Group faces a U.S. patent probe over memory devices. Meanwhile, House Republicans are urging the Treasury and IRS to investigate whether a China-linked network funded by tycoon Neville Roy Singham is covertly financing protests to stall U.S. AI data center development.
Proposed requirements for FCC Covered List
- ▪The proposed Communications and Technology Transparency Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to report to Congress at least seven days before placing any technology on the FCC's Covered List
- ▪The proposed Communications and Technology Transparency Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to seek input from other government agencies, including the Commerce Department, before placing foreign technology on the FCC's Covered List
- ▪U.S. Representatives Brett Guthrie and Frank Pallone introduced the Communications and Technology Transparency Act on September 23, 2026, to reform the Federal Communications Commission's Covered List process.
Proposed scope of FCC restrictions
- ▪The proposed Communications and Technology Transparency Act clarifies that the Federal Communications Commission does not have to retroactively review or revoke equipment authorizations issued before a product was added to the FCC's Covered List
- ▪The Communications and Technology Transparency Act would expand the Federal Communications Commission's restriction scope from "communications equipment or service" to the broader category of "information and communications technology or service."
FCC technology bans
- ▪The Federal Communications Commission's Covered List has been used to ban new Chinese drones, robots, routers, and power inverters, and could potentially ban imports of Chinese optical transceivers.
- ▪In June 2026, the Federal Communications Commission used its Covered List designation to ban the import of previously approved equipment from Chinese manufacturers including Huawei, Dahua, ZTE, and Hikvision
Lawmakers warn of foreign influence on data centers
- ▪U.S. Representatives Jason Smith and John Moolenaar sent a letter on September 22, 2026, asking the Treasury Department and IRS to investigate if foreign funds are being funneled through U.S. nonprofits to block AI data centers.
- ▪U.S. House Republicans Jason Smith and John Moolenaar warned that the Chinese Communist Party is attempting to stall U.S. artificial intelligence development by exploiting local concerns over electricity and water usage.
Singham funding of campaigns against data centers
- ▪A Bitcoin Policy Institute report identified 21 campaigns against data centers led by the Neville Roy Singham-supported Party for Socialism and Liberation, contributing to 10 moratoria, one permanent ban, and four scrapped projects
- ▪A Fox News Digital investigation found that tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham funneled $285 million since 2017 to six U.S. nonprofits, including CodePink, through shell corporations and a Goldman Sachs donor-advised fund.
Data Center Bandwagon campaign
- ▪OpenAI found no evidence that the Chinese 'Data Center Bandwagon' covert influence campaign achieved a meaningful breakout beyond its own activity.
- ▪An OpenAI report from June 2026 identified two clusters of Chinese ChatGPT accounts used in a covert influence campaign called "Data Center Bandwagon" to amplify local opposition to U.S. data centers.
Debatable claims
- ▪Investigating anti-data-center nonprofits for foreign funding is a justified national security measure
- ▪Retroactively revoking authorizations for blacklisted foreign technology does more harm than good
- ▪Requiring interagency approval before blacklisting foreign technology weakens US national security
- ▪The FCC should expand its blacklist to cover all information and communications technology
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