Texas is tightening the screws on China-linked technology. Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that the state will expand its existing ban on Chinese and Chinese Communist Party linked tools, ordering certain artificial intelligence platforms, software, and hardware off state-owned devices.
The move, which Abbott said came after consultations with the newly formed Texas Cyber Command, adds dozens of companies and products to the state’s prohibited technologies list. State officials are pitching the update as a way to blunt foreign attempts to harvest or quietly siphon off sensitive data from government networks.
According to the governor's press release, the new entries follow a formal threat assessment by the Texas Cyber Command and officially designate TXCC as the lead agency to flag additional technologies that could jeopardize the state’s sensitive information. The governor’s office also pushed the announcement out on X. The release says the update targets “AI, hardware and software affiliated with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.”
New names on the banned list
The release lays out a broad mix of firms and products, from AI and facial recognition outfits such as SenseTime, Megvii and Baichuan to consumer brands including Xiaomi, TP-Link and TCL, along with industrial suppliers like CATL and several LiDAR and robotics vendors. State officials say those technologies present potential data exfiltration or supply chain risks.
As the governor's press release quotes Texas Cyber Command Chief Vice Adm. T. J. White, “As TXCC works to stand up its full arsenal of operational assets, we are pleased to lead this effort to prevent cyber attacks that have the potential to exfiltrate sensitive information to bad actors across the globe.”
How agencies must comply
State agencies are already required to maintain policies that ban covered applications, and the Texas Department of Information Resources manages the official prohibited technologies list along with implementation guidance. Per the Texas Department of Information Resources, exceptions are allowed only for specific purposes such as law enforcement investigations or other legitimate uses, must be approved by the agency head, and must be reported to DIR.
In practice, that means agency IT teams must block installations on state-owned devices and, in some cases, lay down rules for personal devices used for state business. DIR recommends network-based controls, removal orders and structured reporting to keep agencies in line. Translation: state tech departments are in for a lot of audits and uninstall tickets.
Texas Cyber Command and why now
Abbott first pushed the creation of the Texas Cyber Command last year and signed the law establishing TXCC in June, placing the new command in San Antonio and anchoring it at UTSA’s facilities. According to UTSA, the initiative came with roughly $135 million in initial funding to build a statewide threat intelligence center and staff the command as it ramps up operations.
Where this fits nationally
Analysts say Texas’ latest move tracks with a broader national pattern of state and federal scrutiny of Chinese linked technologies over concerns about data sharing and national security. As AP News reported last year, Texas was among the early states to block emerging Chinese AI platforms such as DeepSeek and social apps like RedNote from government devices, and the state has continued to expand that blacklist.
Legal and compliance implications
The ban operates alongside 2023’s Senate Bill 1893, which added Government Code Chapter 620 and requires governmental entities to adopt policies keeping covered applications off devices they own or lease. The official text of SB 1893 defines a “covered application” and allows limited exceptions for law enforcement, as long as agencies document and report their mitigation steps.
For state IT directors and contractors, the to-do list is straightforward but not exactly light: review inventories, block or remove listed software, and file any exception requests through DIR. Abbott’s update makes clear that future changes to the prohibited list will be driven by ongoing threat assessments from the Texas Cyber Command as it grows into its new role.
