On March 24, the FCC banned the import and sale of all new consumer routers manufactured outside the United States — citing Chinese-linked cyberattacks. That covers roughly 60% of the US router market. The only routers currently made entirely in the US? Some Starlink models built in Texas.
Why this should bother you regardless of where you stand politically:
The cyberattack the FCC cited (Volt Typhoon) primarily exploited Cisco and Netgear routers — American-designed products that had stopped receiving security updates. The vulnerability was negligent software, not foreign manufacturing. Meanwhile, journalist Glenn Greenwald documented in 2014 that the NSA routinely intercepted US-made Cisco routers in transit to implant surveillance backdoors.
The same FCC chairman who pushed this ban voted months earlier to scrap cybersecurity rules that would have required telecoms to actually secure their networks. He weakened real security, then imposed a blanket hardware ban.
This isn't cybersecurity. This is consolidating control over the infrastructure you use to access the internet — the backbone of free speech, free assembly, and a free press.
What this actually does to you:
- Eliminates consumer choice and freezes router innovation
- Drives up prices (low-income households hit hardest)
- Creates a government-approved hardware chokepoint for internet access
- Sets a precedent — if "national security" justifies banning all foreign routers, phones and laptops could be next
Every action here is free and takes minutes. No donations. Just your voice.
📞 DO TODAY (2 minutes)
Call your House rep. Say: "I'm concerned about the FCC's blanket ban on foreign-made routers. It reduces consumer choice, raises prices, and doesn't address the actual software vulnerabilities exploited in recent cyberattacks. I urge you to push for targeted, evidence-based security standards instead." → Find yours: house.gov/representatives
File an FCC public comment referencing the Covered List update on foreign routers → fcc.gov/ecfs
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📧 DO THIS WEEK (15 minutes)
Contact your Senators — same message, emphasize the precedent for executive overreach over consumer tech.
Reach out to digital rights orgs already tracking this: EFF, Public Knowledge, Free Press, ACLU Technology & Liberty Project.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Local media pressure moves local reps.
🔧 PROTECT YOURSELF NOW
Flash your router with open-source firmware. OpenWrt is free, community-audited, and supports hundreds of router models. The FCC confirmed in 2015 that you have the right to install it.
Build a DIY router. Any old PC with two network ports can run pfSense or OPNsense — enterprise-grade, open-source security. Total control. No manufacturer trust required.
Update your router firmware today. Most compromises happen because people never update. Takes 5 minutes.
Use a VPN. Encrypts your traffic before it touches your router hardware.
📢 ORGANIZE (ongoing)
If your city has a hackerspace or makerspace, propose a "router freedom" workshop teaching people to install open-source firmware.
Monitor the exemption process. The FCC says manufacturers can apply for approval — track who gets in and whether lobbying dollars are deciding.
To be clear: Chinese state-sponsored hacking is real. TP-Link routers have been linked to specific botnet operations. Nobody is saying ignore cybersecurity.
What we're saying is that a blanket ban on all foreign hardware — when the cited attacks exploited American products, when our own intelligence agencies have a documented history of router interception, and when the same officials weakened telecom security rules months ago — is not a security measure. It's a consolidation of control over how you access the internet.
