No other gadget knows as much about your home as a robot vacuum. They map your space, learn your routines and now many carry cameras and microphones into every room in your house.

The ban on foreign-made mobile robots issued by the Federal Communications Commission won’t make them safer, just more expensive. Americans will see fewer new models and slower innovation - in short, we’ll get worse vacuums than those we have today.

While cybersecurity is important, manufacturing location is not a reliable indicator of security. The ban doesn't address actual security risks but rather restricts imports from countries deemed problematic by the U.S. government.

The real risk isn’t in where these robots are made, but in how secure their software and data management policies are. But for now, that means fewer, pricier models with outdated features.