A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation to bar federal agencies from using optical transceivers made by China's Eoptolink and Zhongji Innolight in sensitive systems. If approved, the government would have five years to comply.
The bill would restrict Chinese-made optical transceivers in sensitive government systems. The devices carry data over fiber-optic cables and are used in AI data centers; supporters say they could be used by Beijing to disrupt access to US AI tools and cloud services.
US industry groups have warned that restricting the devices could slow the US AI infrastructure buildout. US firms Coherent and Lumentum sell competing technology but lack the scale to replace Chinese vendors, a report by the Foundation for American Innovation said.
The legislation is sponsored by Republicans John Cornyn and Dave McCormick and Democrats John Fetterman and Ruben Gallego. If it passes, the Secretaries of Commerce and Defense could add companies to the list, and the government would have five years to comply.
