Sponsors (5)
The bill strengthens national security by giving agencies and the FCC authority and deadlines to block risky foreign humanoid/quadruped robots and their software, at the cost of higher compliance and administrative burdens and potential market disruptions or overly broad prohibitions that could harm manufacturers and users.
Federal agencies, critical-infrastructure operators, and the general public: agencies and the FCC gain clear authority to block foreign-produced humanoid and quadruped robots and their control software that pose espionage or sabotage risks, reducing national-security vulnerabilities.
Federal agencies and regulators: the bill provides definitions and a one-year review deadline, forcing timely risk determinations and reducing prolonged uncertainty about covered robotics equipment.
Homeowners and state/local infrastructure owners: once items are listed, the FCC’s restrictions can prevent insecure robotic communications equipment from connecting to networks, helping protect private residences and critical infrastructure from compromised devices.
Manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers of affected robots: firms and customers may face bans or loss of market access to robots and software from covered foreign entities, raising costs and limiting product availability.
Technology companies and users: the FCC’s automatic backstop that lists all items if agencies miss the one-year deadline could produce overly broad prohibitions without item-specific risk findings, harming legitimate products and innovation.
Global suppliers and firms with multinational arrangements: limiting exclusions to only 'countries not of concern' creates compliance complexity for products with multinational ownership, licensing, or supply chains.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires agencies and the FCC to evaluate and, if necessary, list humanoid/quadruped robots and their control software from covered foreign entities as covered communications equipment under existing law.
Official title: To provide for certain humanoid and quadruped robotics communications equipment or services to be placed on the covered list of the Federal Communications Commission, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 3, 2026 by John Moolenaar · Last progress June 3, 2026
Requires national security agencies and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to evaluate humanoid and quadruped robots and their controlling software made or supplied by covered foreign entities and—if found to pose an unacceptable national security risk—treat them as “covered communications equipment or services” under existing law. Agencies must make determinations within set deadlines (one year for initial determinations) and the FCC will add items to the covered list if agencies fail to act or when agencies notify the FCC of unacceptable risk; the bill excludes allies and other non‑countries of concern from the covered foreign entity definition.