First US City Bans Hikvision

Just days after a ban of Hikvision was signed into law for the US federal government, the first US city has followed, banning Hikvision as well.

City Ban

While US cities and states are not included in the US federal government ban of Hikvision (and Dahua, Huawei, etc.), the city of Suffolk Virginia has already decided to ban them, explaining:

Panasonic OEM of Hikvision

Interestingly, this city's ban was driven by their usage of Panasonic OEMing Hikvision, not Hikvision branded products themselves. The city cites 'Advidia' by name, which is a Panasonic line acquired and retained from their 2015 VideoInsight acquisition.

Compounding Panasonic's problems is that Panasonic is now OEMing Dahua, under their own Panasonic brand.

City / Local Bans To Spread

These bans will certainly spread. The logic is straightforward as this Virginia city's move on an open camera bid request shows.

If the US federal government has blacklisted a product, local governments will factor this into their own purchasing decisions, as they express concerns over (1) the security of the US government blacklisted products, (2) the impact on funding from the US government, (3) impact of integration with government systems, etc.

OEM And Dealer Impact

As these bans spread, Dahua and Hikvision OEMs and dealers will have more challenges - (a) from losing out on opportunities to (b) dealing with this as a regular objection and (c) to the logistical problem of having of carrying a line that significant numbers have blacklisted. How they handle this will be a key factor in the overall impact to the Chinese mega-manufacturers.