Information Regarding NDAA Restrictions
In order to help you better understand the restriction of the NDAA ban, we have put some information together using excerpts of an article from IPVM, which goes into great details as well as official US government resources. The IPVM article can be found here: https://ipvm.com/reports/ndaa-guide
Disclaimer: The below information is for information purposes only. It is not legal advice. We are not lawyers and recommend that you contact your legal counsel, should you have any questions how these developments may affect you.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
The US government has implemented wide-ranging prohibitions on using, buying, and selling video surveillance products including Dahua, Hikvision, and Huawei (Hisilicon) based products.
However, the bans and 'blacklisting' are not complete. In many areas, US businesses are free to buy, sell, and use these products.
Legislation
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Section 889: Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.
"Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment" includes products from Hikvision and Dahua but also companies that use components of these companies.
https://www.acquisition.gov/Section-889-Policies
Section 889 has three core parts:
- the 'procurement ban', which bans federal procurement of covered equipment/service and went into effect in August 2019
- the 'blacklist clause', which bans federal agencies from doing business with those who "use" covered equipment/services and went into effect in August 2020
- the 'funding ban', which prohibits federal dollars from being spent on covered goods/services and went into effect in August 2020
Procurement Ban Examples
Below is a list of hypothetical scenarios that are prohibited under the procurement ban:
- An integrator cannot renew his contract with a local Coast Guard base for a Hikvision camera system
- A construction company cannot install Dahua NVRs for its local Veterans Administration office
- A veteran-owned security firm cannot win a US Air Force contract if it plans to install Huawei HiSilicon-based IP cameras at one of the barracks
Blacklist Clause Examples
The examples below are prohibited under the blacklist clause:
- An integrator which no longer deals Hikvision but does still maintain a Hikvision camera network he installed at a pizza parlor three years ago, occasionally logging in to fix bugs. This is "maintenance" of a banned item, which is a "covered service", so this integrator will not be able to participate in a security contract for his local VA office, even though he only deals NDAA-compliant equipment now.
- A Japanese construction company that uses Hikvision cameras in its Tokyo office to monitor its staff can no longer win State Department contracts because of its use of covered equipment.
- A veteran-owned security firm that uses a wide variety of cheap cameras, some of them with Huawei HiSilicon SoCs, cannot win a simple contract for wire fencing at a nearby US Navy base.
- A subcontractor installs relabeled Hikvision cameras at a prime contractor's new headquarters without disclosing that the cameras are Hikvision and thus NDAA-banned, meaning the prime contractor now risks being blacklisted from all federal contracts for using Hikvision cameras.
Funding Clause Examples
As IPVM has reported, the examples are prohibited under the funding clause:
- An integrator cannot sell Hikvision cameras to a local private school as part of a Department of Education-funded grant to expand security
- A security firm cannot renew its DHS-funded contract with a local synagogue for a Huawei HiSilicon chip-powered surveillance system
- A construction company cannot sell Dahua NVRs for a local rec center's expansion funded by the Veterans Administration
However, even with the funding clause in place, the examples below are not prohibited:
- An integrator using Dahua cameras can sell NDAA-compliant systems for a local school's federal Department of Education grant to expand security
- A security firm using Huawei HiSilicon chip-powered surveillance systems at its own warehouse can obtain a DHS-funded contract with a local mosque that does not include any covered equipment/services
Should you have any questions regarding this information, please feel free to contact us.
