Abbott Adds Chinese Tech Firms to Texas’ Prohibited Technology List Over Cybersecurity Concern

By Brandon Waltens, Texas Scoreboard

   Gov. Greg Abbott has directed Texas officials to expand the state’s prohibited technology list following a threat assessment carried out by the Texas Cyber Command.

  Among the newly prohibited technologies are TP-Link, Hisense, and TCL—brands commonly found in consumer routers and electronics—alongside a slate of other foreign-linked companies spanning artificial intelligence, surveillance systems, drones, and battery manufacturing.

  Texas’ prohibited technology list functions as a “do not buy / do not deploy” list for state government, flagging companies and products considered high-risk for use in government networks, devices, and infrastructure.

  According to information provided by state officials, the additions include SenseTime, Megvii, CloudWalk, Autel, CATL, Wuhan Geosun LiDAR, Yitu, iFlytek, Uniview, and Zhipu (Z.ai), as well as the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI).

  Other additions include Alibaba, Xiaomi, Gotion High Tech, Baidu, RoboSense LiDAR, Baichuan, StepFun, MiniMax, PDD (Pinduoduo, Temu), Shein, Moonshot AI, and NucTech.

  “Rogue actors across the globe who wish harm on Texans should not be allowed to infiltrate our state’s network and devices,” said Abbott. “Hostile adversaries harvest user data through AI and other applications and hardware to exploit, manipulate, and violate users and put them at extreme risk. Today, I am expanding the prohibited technologies list to mitigate that risk and protect the privacy of Texans from the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and any other hostile foreign actors who may attempt to undermine the safety and security of Texas.”

  The move comes as the Texas Cyber Command—created by House Bill 150 and signed into law last year—continues to take on a larger role in the state’s response to cybersecurity threats. 

  Under the new law, the Texas Cyber Command is responsible for cybersecurity in Texas, including monitoring threats, coordinating incident response, and developing minimum cybersecurity standards for governmental entities. 

  Abbott and lawmakers pitched the creation of the Command as a defensive response to persistent cyber threats facing Texas government systems and critical infrastructure.