The 27-day government shutdown is creating an unexpected bottleneck for tech companies ready to launch new products. With the Federal Communications Commission unable to approve radio frequency emissions, devices from Leica, Razer, and WiiM are sitting in regulatory limbo, threatening holiday sales seasons and exposing deeper problems in America's tech approval process.
The ripple effects of Washington's political dysfunction are now hitting consumer electronics in an unexpected way. As the government shutdown stretches into its 27th day, tech companies with finished products ready for market are discovering they can't actually sell them in the United States.
Leica became one of the first casualties earlier this month when it had to delay the launch of its M EV1 camera due to FCC approval holdups. The WiiM Sound audiophile speaker, already shipping internationally, remains stuck for US customers. Razer pushed back its Raiju V3 Pro wireless controller launch, citing the same regulatory roadblock.
The problem stems from a basic but critical requirement: any product that emits radio frequencies can't be sold in America until the FCC certifies that its emissions won't interfere with other devices. It's typically routine paperwork, but the shutdown has classified these approvals as non-essential government functions.
"You can't get them off the boats until they have their certification," Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge, told The Verge. The agency's skeleton crew during the shutdown means mounting backlogs with no clear timeline for resolution.
But the shutdown is just the visible symptom of deeper structural problems plaguing the FCC's approval process. The agency has been hemorrhaging experienced engineers through retirement, leaving fewer people to handle the technical testing that device approvals require. "The FCC has lost a large number of engineers as a result of retirement," Feld explains, noting that while the agency avoided some of the cuts seen elsewhere under Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, it's still dealing with a shrinking, aging workforce.
The Trump administration's approach to national security is adding another complication. On September 8th, the FCC decertified numerous Chinese testing labs that companies had been using to verify their products met emission standards. Chairman Brendan Carr celebrated shutting down these "Bad Labs" as necessary for "combating foreign adversary threats," but it forces companies to scramble for alternative testing facilities.
