Sponsors (4)
The bill improves understanding of national-security risks in consumer networking equipment and equips policymakers with evidence for targeted actions, but it may delay immediate protections and could lead to higher costs or overly broad restrictions that raise privacy and fairness concerns.
Taxpayers, homeowners, and small-business owners will benefit from improved national security because the bill directs a study to identify risks in consumer routers/modems tied to covered countries, helping reveal vulnerabilities.
State governments, Congress, and federal agencies will have better information to enable targeted mitigation (e.g., guidance, procurement limits), making future policy actions more evidence-based.
Homeowners and small-business owners will gain greater public awareness about supply-chain vulnerabilities in consumer networking equipment, which can prompt safer purchasing and device-management choices.
Small-business owners and homeowners could face higher prices if follow-on policies restrict or block devices from certain countries, increasing procurement and compliance costs.
Small-business owners and taxpayers risk having vague 'influence' language used to justify broad restrictions or surveillance actions that could sweep in benign vendors, raising privacy and fairness concerns.
Taxpayers, homeowners, and small-business owners may see delayed concrete protections because a study-only approach identifies risks but does not itself mandate immediate remedies or device restrictions within the year.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Commerce to study national security risks from consumer routers/modems tied to covered countries and report to relevant congressional committees within one year.
Official title: Direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to conduct a study of the national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 24, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress January 24, 2025
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and combined modem-router devices that are designed, manufactured, or supplied by entities owned, controlled, or influenced by a "covered country." The Department must consult the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and deliver a report to the relevant House and Senate committees within one year of enactment.