China-Made Fitness Trackers May Threaten US Security, Senators Warn

WASHINGTON—Two U.S. senators have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to look into China-made wearable health devices, saying they could pose security risks to Americans and the nation.

In a June 18 letter seen by The Epoch Times, Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and David McCormick (R-Pa.), chairman and member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, respectively, requested the FCC to brief their panel. They express concerns that the wearable technology used by Americans to track health may contain China-made components that could allow their sensitive data to be accessible to the communist regime.

“As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensifies its campaign to steal and exploit private consumer data, we have a solemn obligation to ensure that the health devices our nation’s seniors depend on daily do not expose them to unacceptable security risks,” they wrote in the letter addressed to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

They pointed to an October 2025 FCC report suggesting that Chinese-origin modular transmitters embedded in consumer tech deserve closer scrutiny.

“While consumers, including seniors, believe that their health wearables may be completely secure, the unfortunate reality indicates that in all likelihood, the most intimate details of their health may be accessible by a foreign adversarial government,” the senators wrote in the letter.

A major Chinese cellular internet of things (IoT) manufacturer, Quectel, was designated by the Pentagon in January as a Chinese military company.

Only three of the top 10 IoT global module manufacturers are “insulated from the Chinese Communist Party,” the senators said. One of those three exited the IoT module market last year, they added.

China’s cybersecurity law compels companies based in the country to share user data with the authorities upon request, meaning that all devices sold by a China-based wearable maker—and the personally identifiable information they collect—could be accessible to Beijing without the user’s knowledge or consent, the senator wrote.

In addition, these wearable devices collect critical health data, such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and sleep patterns. These biometric parameters, in aggregate, may provide population-level health profiles that “could be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models for non-civilian applications,” they wrote.

At least two states so far have launched probes into Chinese-manufactured medical devices.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in March said they could pose cybersecurity risks. In February, Florida’s attorney general created a special task force focusing on reviewing data collection practices of companies that they believe are sharing information with China.

The senators told the FCC they are especially concerned about the risk to senior Americans, whose reliance on certain types of connected health-monitoring devices goes far beyond fitness.

“They are, in many cases, the very devices that determine whether a senior receives emergency medical care, whether their medication is working, and whether they are safe to remain in their own home.”

They asked the FCC to investigate six types of wearable devices that monitor Americans’ health, including medical alert systems, smartwatches, remote blood pressure and heart monitors, and smart hearing aids. Their goal is to determine whether these devices or components present any data security or privacy risks.

Scott and McCormick said they want regulators to consider adding some of these products to the FCC’s Covered List, a move that could block their sales in the U.S. market.

“Communist China is a direct threat to every square inch of American life,” Scott told The Epoch Times ahead of the letter’s release.

“We need to completely decouple from China—full stop,” he said. “At the very least, we should stop serving them Americans’ personal data on a silver platter.”