Two of six selected federal agencies reported finding small amounts of telecommunications or video-surveillance equipment covered by a 2018 procurement ban, according to a Government Accountability Office review.
Defense Department officials identified three connected instances and said the devices had been blocked from external network access while removal work continued. The Energy Department also reported finding little covered equipment and addressing potential risks.
Officials at Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury told GAO they did not identify covered equipment connected to their information-technology networks.
The law generally bars executive agencies from procuring equipment made by specified companies, subsidiaries or affiliates linked to the People's Republic of China. It does not prohibit agencies from using covered equipment acquired before the ban.
All six agencies used combinations of hardware-inventory searches, network scans, procurement-record reviews and physical searches between 2019 and December 2025. No single method was used in every circumstance.
GAO cautioned that each method has limits. Network scans may not cover every segment, including classified networks, and procurement records may not reveal components inside a finished device.
Some agency officials cited limited supply-chain visibility and the lack of a comprehensive, authoritative list of subsidiaries and affiliates. Corporate names and ownership can also change over time.
The review covers six agencies selected because they have entities in the Intelligence Community. Its findings should not be generalized to every federal agency or treated as a full inventory of government equipment.
The agency-reported searches identify equipment matching the statutory definition, not evidence that a device was exploited. Counts and risk-remediation status may change after the report's December 2025 evidence window.