On July 28, 2026, the FCC added foreign-produced power inverters and advanced robotic devices to its Covered List, following determinations by an executive branch interagency body that they pose “unacceptable risks” to the national security of the United States. The new additions continue a string of decisions placing entire categories of foreign-produced devices on the Covered List of restricted equipment—beginning with the FCC’s December 2025 addition of all foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (a/k/a drones) and continuing with the March 2026 addition of all foreign-produced routers. The definitions of power inverters and advanced robotic devices are broad, seeming to reach inverters used in electrical systems such as commercial solar, battery, and wind-power projects, home solar and battery systems, and electric-vehicle chargers, and advanced robotic devices such as humanoid and quadruped robots, and robotic vacuums, pool cleaners, and lawn mowers.
Continue Reading FCC Restricts Imports of New Foreign-Produced Power Inverters and Advanced Robotic Devices with Additions to its Covered List
Jennifer Johnson
Jennifer Johnson is a partner specializing in communications, media and technology matters who serves as Co-Chair of Covington’s Technology Industry Group and its global and multi-disciplinary Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) Groups. She represents and advises technology companies, content distributors, television companies, trade associations, and other entities on a wide range of media and technology matters. Jennifer has three decades of experience advising clients in the communications, media and technology sectors, and has held leadership roles in these practices for more than twenty years. On technology issues, she collaborates with Covington's global, multi-disciplinary team to assist companies navigating the complex statutory and regulatory constructs surrounding this evolving area, including product counseling and technology transactions related to connected and autonomous vehicles, internet connected devices, artificial intelligence, smart ecosystems, and other IoT products and services. Jennifer serves on the Board of Editors of The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law.
Jennifer assists clients in developing and pursuing strategic business and policy objectives before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress and through transactions and other business arrangements. She regularly advises clients on FCC regulatory matters and advocates frequently before the FCC. Jennifer has extensive experience negotiating content acquisition and distribution agreements for media and technology companies, including program distribution agreements, network affiliation and other program rights agreements, and agreements providing for the aggregation and distribution of content on over-the-top app-based platforms. She also assists investment clients in structuring, evaluating, and pursuing potential investments in media and technology companies.
U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2026
This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the second quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).
Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2026Illinois Enacts Frontier Model Safety Law
On July 6, 2026, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law SB 315, a frontier model safety act that resembles the New York RAISE Act, discussed in our prior blog post here, and California’s Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), discussed in our prior blog post here. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, with transparency-reporting and audit obligations beginning January 1, 2028. Similar to the New York and California laws, SB 315 will apply to frontier developers (i.e., persons that train, or initiate the training of, a frontier model using computing power greater than 10^26 integer or floating point operations), with certain provisions applicable only to large frontier developers (i.e., frontier developers with annual gross revenue over $500 million in the preceding year). SB 315 also includes public safety disclosure and reporting requirements. Notably, SB 315 also imposes a third-party audit requirement not found in either the New York or the California law.
Continue Reading Illinois Enacts Frontier Model Safety LawFederal Vehicle Safety at Midyear: Regulatory Relief, Legislative Momentum, and the Road to the Broader AV Deployment
Executive Summary
2026 has been a dynamic year so far for federal regulation of automotive safety. Federal regulators have demonstrated a sustained commitment to regulatory reform and innovation, while simultaneously advancing efforts to facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles. Congress has also renewed its focus on vehicle safety and automation…
Continue Reading Federal Vehicle Safety at Midyear: Regulatory Relief, Legislative Momentum, and the Road to the Broader AV DeploymentIllinois Department of Human Rights Seeks Public Comment on Draft AI Employment Regulations
Last month, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”) released draft regulations addressing employers’ use of AI in employment decisions and invited public comment. The IDHR will hold a hearing on the draft regulations on June 10, and the public comment period will close on June 29.
Continue Reading Illinois Department of Human Rights Seeks Public Comment on Draft AI Employment RegulationsConnecticut Passes Comprehensive AI Law
On May 1, the Connecticut legislature passed an artificial intelligence (“AI”) safety, transparency, and consumer protection bill (“SB 5”). While the Colorado legislature takes steps to streamline existing requirements for developers and deployers of AI systems, Connecticut has passed a multi-part framework that will impose requirements on large frontier developers…
Continue Reading Connecticut Passes Comprehensive AI LawU.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – First Quarter 2026
This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the first quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).
I. Federal AI Legislative Developments
In the first quarter, members of Congress introduced several AI bills related to nonconsensual images, chatbots…
Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – First Quarter 2026FCC Opens Application Window for New Cyber Trust Mark Program Lead Administrator
On January 6, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (the “Bureau”) announced the application window for a new Lead Administrator for the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Program (the “Program”). The window will be open from January 7, 2026, through January 28, 2026. The previous…
Continue Reading FCC Opens Application Window for New Cyber Trust Mark Program Lead AdministratorWashington State AI Task Force Releases AI Policy Recommendations for 2026
On December 1, the Washington State AI Task Force (“Task Force”) released its Interim Report with AI policy recommendations to the Governor and legislature. Established by the legislature in 2024, the Task Force is responsible for evaluating current and potential uses of AI in Washington and recommending regulatory and legislative…
Continue Reading Washington State AI Task Force Releases AI Policy Recommendations for 2026U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – 2025 Mid-Year Update
This update highlights key mid-year legislative and regulatory developments and builds on our first quarter update related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), Internet of Things (“IoT”), and cryptocurrencies and blockchain developments.
I. Federal AI Legislative Developments
In the first session of the 119th Congress, lawmakers rejected a proposed moratorium on state and local enforcement of AI laws and advanced several AI legislative proposals focused on deepfake-related harms. Specifically, on July 1, after weeks of negotiations, the Senate voted 99-1 to strike a proposed 10-year moratorium on state and local enforcement of AI laws from the budget reconciliation package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which President Trump signed into law. The vote to strike the moratorium follows the collapse of an agreement on revised language that would have shortened the moratorium to 5 years and allowed states to enforce “generally applicable laws,” including child online safety, digital replica, and CSAM laws, that do not have an “undue or disproportionate effect” on AI. Congress could technically still consider the moratorium during this session, but the chances of that happening are low based on both the political atmosphere and the lack of a must-pass legislative vehicle in which it could be included. See our blog post on this topic for more information.
Additionally, lawmakers continue to focus legislation on deepfakes and intimate imagery. For example, on May 19, President Trump signed the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (“TAKE IT DOWN”) Act (H.R. 633 / S. 146) into law, which requires online platforms to establish a notice and takedown process for nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including certain depictions created using AI. See our blog post on this topic for more information. Meanwhile, members of Congress continued to pursue additional legislation to address deepfake-related harms, such as the STOP CSAM Act of 2025 (S. 1829 / H.R. 3921) and the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And Non-Consensual Edits (“DEFIANCE”) Act (H.R. 3562 / S. 1837).
Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – 2025 Mid-Year Update