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What happened, and when?
- February 26, 2024: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), part of the U.S. Commerce Department, announced that Sandvine Incorporated had been added to the Entity List. The announcement said covered transactions involving items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) would require a BIS license, with applications likely to be denied. BIS announcement.
- February 27, 2024: The final rule was published in the Federal Register and took effect. It set a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR in transactions involving Sandvine and a presumption of denial for license applications. Federal Register rule.
- October 21, 2024: BIS and the State Department announced that Sandvine had been removed from the Entity List, citing changes to the company’s governance and business practices. BIS said the departments would closely monitor the company’s implementation of its commitments. BIS removal announcement.
The announcement date and the rule’s effective date are different events: BIS announced the listing on February 26, while the Federal Register rule took effect the following day.
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What did the restriction actually cover?
While Sandvine’s Entity List entry applied, covered exports, reexports, and transfers in-country of items subject to the EAR required a BIS license. The rule established a presumption of denial, making approval unlikely; it did not make every transaction involving Sandvine categorically illegal. BIS described the restriction in its February announcement and the final rule.
The rule’s entry listed destinations under Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. Those are destination headings associated with the Entity List entry; they do not mean the government alleged that misuse occurred in each of those countries. The stated rationale concerned Egypt.
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The Entity List requirements were additional to other EAR controls. BIS’s Entity List FAQ explains that removal does not eliminate other licensing requirements that may apply because of an item’s classification, destination, or other applicable rules. A particular transaction therefore cannot be assessed from Sandvine’s listing status alone; the item, destination, parties, and other controls matter.
Why did BIS add Sandvine?
In the Federal Register rule, BIS said the End-User Review Committee acted on information that Sandvine supplied deep packet inspection technology to Egypt’s government. BIS said the technology was used for mass web-monitoring and censorship, including blocking news and targeting political actors and human rights activists. Its October 2024 announcement also described reported targeting of activists and dissidents, including through misuse of commercial spyware. These are the U.S. government’s stated findings and assessments, not an independent technical investigation presented here. See the Federal Register rule and BIS removal announcement.
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What did BIS say changed before removal?
BIS said Sandvine overhauled its corporate structure, leadership, and business model and pivoted toward serving democracies committed to human-rights protection. The department described measures including:
- Exiting non-democratic countries and monitoring potential misuse in countries where Sandvine planned to continue operating.
- Engaging more deeply with civil society and dedicating profits to human-rights protection.
- Adding human-rights experts to leadership and establishing a Business Ethics Committee to vet decisions.
BIS reported that Sandvine had exited 32 countries, with exits from another 24 in process. Those counts and descriptions are BIS’s account in its October 21, 2024 announcement; they are not independent confirmation of lasting compliance. BIS and the State Department said they would monitor implementation. The stated reforms were the basis for removal, not proof that future misuse has been prevented.
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What does removal mean now?
Removal ended the additional licensing requirements imposed by Sandvine’s Entity List entry. It did not erase other EAR requirements that could apply to a transaction for separate reasons, such as the item’s classification or destination. For legal or compliance decisions, consult the current EAR and BIS guidance; the status change alone does not determine whether a specific export, reexport, or transfer is authorized. The distinction is explained in the BIS Entity List FAQ.
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