Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is introducing legislation Wednesday that would require an appropriate national security agency to determine if communications equipment or services tied to several fast-rising Chinese technology companies pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons, with an affirmative finding — or failure to complete the review on time — resulting in placement on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) covered list.
The FCC covered list is a published list of high-risk communications equipment and services, which was established under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 in order to monitor their status and limit their use.
Scott’s Blocking CCP Spy Tech Act of 2026, introduced with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), focuses on a group of Hangzhou, China-based technology firms known as the “Six Little Dragons”: Game Science, DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics, DEEP Robotics, BrainCo, and Manycore Tech. The legislation would also apply to communications equipment or services produced or provided by those companies’ subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, joint ventures, or entities licensed by them to produce or provide such equipment or services.
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The bill gives an “appropriate national security agency” one year after enactment to determine if communications equipment or services produced or provided by the named entities, or their covered affiliates and partners, pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons. If the agency makes an affirmative determination, the FCC must place the equipment or services on its covered list within 30 days, while the agency must submit a report on the determination to the appropriate congressional committees.
If the appropriate national security agency does not make the required determination within one year, the bill directs the FCC to add the communications equipment and services described in the legislation to the covered list within 30 days. If an agency determines the equipment or services do not present an unacceptable risk, that agency must report the determination to Congress, and all other appropriate national security agencies would have 180 days to review that determination and submit reports on their own determinations.
The bill also directs the secretary of defense, as part of the annual review required under Section 1260H of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, to determine if any entity described in the bill should be identified as a Chinese military company operating directly or indirectly in the United States.
Scott told Breitbart News exclusively, “Communist China is not our friend. They have chosen to be our enemies and want to destroy us. That’s why it’s imperative that we ensure that any company or entity connected with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and CCP are not given unfettered access to the U.S. economy,” Scott said. “By prohibiting Communist Chinese companies from accessing American markets, U.S. manufacturing will get a fairer playing field to create family-sustaining jobs. We can’t let China steal from us without accountability, and this bill makes sure China can’t keep taking advantage of hardworking Americans.”
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Cotton stated to Breitbart News, “Chinese technology threatens Americans’ privacy and national security. Our bill would ban any Chinese technology that poses an unacceptable risk to security and safety from being sold in the United States.”
The press release provided to Breitbart News cites Unitree Robotics and BrainCo as examples, saying recent reporting showed Unitree integrated an undocumented remote access tunnel called CloudSail into its robotics platforms, which the release said would connect Unitree products to servers in China. It also says BrainCo reportedly collects and maintains brainwave activity data, used its headsets on American schoolchildren at a Boston school in 2019, integrated its technology into Unitree Robotics’ humanoid robots, and cooperated with several of China’s “Seven Sons of National Defense” universities.
The bill follows a May 6, 2025, letter from members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to investigate Unitree. The letter asked the agencies to examine Unitree’s role in advancing People’s Republic of China (PRC) military objectives and, based on their findings, consider designating it under Section 1260H, adding it to the Entity List, and including it on the FCC covered list.
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The letter said Unitree has well-documented ties to PLA-affiliated institutions and CCP entities, received PRC state funding, contributed to defense research, supplied platforms to PRC police, and produced robotic systems with potential military uses. It also cited reports that a rifle-equipped Unitree robot appeared in PLA-Cambodian military exercises in 2024.
The committee also raised concerns about CloudSail, saying cybersecurity researchers reported in March 2025 that Unitree robots came pre-installed with the undocumented remote access tunnel enabled by default, connecting the robots to Unitree servers in China. According to the letter, researchers identified 1,900 connected robots with no disclosure to end users and no authentication barriers.
The letter further warned that Unitree robots were already operating in sensitive U.S. settings, including law enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, and defense installations, and could expose critical infrastructure to remote surveillance and data collection.
China’s President Xi Jinping, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing Thursday, May 14, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
Scott’s latest bill fits into a series of efforts he has pursued on China, cybersecurity, connected devices, and national security. Earlier Wednesday, Scott and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) contended in a Breitbart News exclusive op-ed that CCP-backed cyber threats such as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon show the need for the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, which they said would create a CISA-led joint task force to detect, analyze, and respond to CCP-backed cyber threats and require annual reports to Congress detailing threat assessments and recommendations.
Scott and Cotton also raised China-linked national security concerns in a February 26 Breitbart News report about their request for a federal investigation into surrogacy centers and agencies operated by foreigners, including Chinese-linked entities. In March, Scott and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called for a formal investigation of Anker Innovations, Eufy smart-home products, and SOLIX battery technologies over security and data-transmission concerns. In October 2025, Scott introduced the PROTECT the Grid Act, which would target high-wattage, internet-connected appliances controlled by companies with ties to the CCP and direct the Commerce Department to investigate CCP-affiliated technology embedded in critical infrastructure devices.
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