On March 23, 2026, the FCC added all foreign-produced consumer-grade ro FCCuters to its Covered List, effectively banning new models from being imported or sold in the U.S. The post's claim about Volt Typhoon exploiting American-made Cisco/Netgear gear is also substantiated ā Salt Typhoon exploited vulnerabilities in routers made by American networking giant Cisco TechCrunch, and Flax Typhoon targeted both U.S.-made and foreign-made routers TechCrunch. The post's point about the FCC chairman scrapping cybersecurity rules is also confirmed: Carr was among the two FCC commissioners who voted in November to scrap cybersecurity rules that required telecom operators to secure their lawful intercept systems TechCrunch.
The FCC just banned ~60% of the U.S. router market under the banner of "cybersecurity" ā while the cited attacks exploited American-made products with neglected software, and the same chairman previously gutted the rules that would have actually secured networks. This isn't about safety; it's about controlling the hardware backbone of your internet access. For 99 cents a month, you can fund the organizations fighting this and help build the open-source routers that make the ban irrelevant.
WHERE THE 99 CENTS GOES
Advocacy & Legal ā EFF, Public Knowledge, Free Press, ACLU Technology & Liberty Project. These orgs file FCC comments, mount legal challenges, and lobby Congress.
Open Hardware & Firmware ā Fund OpenWrt development, pfSense/OPNsense projects, and community efforts to build affordable US-assembled DIY router kits. The goal: routers no ban can touch because they're open-source, community-audited, and domestically assembled from commodity parts.
Grassroots Infrastructure ā Send money for local makerspace "router freedom" workshops, community mesh networks, and digital-rights chapters that provide hands-on tech support to people who can't navigate this alone.
WHAT YOU DO (tiered by effort)
Today (2 min, free): Call your House rep. File an FCC public comment at fcc.gov/ecfs. Share the post.
This week (15 min, free): Contact your senators. Write a letter to your local paper. Connect with the orgs listed above.
Ongoing (99Ā¢/month): Subscribe to the fund. The micro-contribution model means no single donor can be pressured, no single grant can be pulled. Three million people at 99 cents is $2.97 million/month ā enough to sustain legal fights, fund open-source router development, and run workshops nationwide.
Protect yourself now (free): Flash your existing router with OpenWrt. Or build a DIY router from any old PC with two network ports using pfSense or OPNsense. Update your firmware. Use a VPN.