TSMC is reportedly facing a $1 billion fine for unknowingly producing a compute chiplet for blacklisted Huawei, which put an order to the company using a proxy. The situation did not look good for the contract chipmaker, and in its most recent annual report TSMC acknowledged difficulties in monitoring how its chips are used once they leave its fabs. In other words, it cannot guarantee that the Huawei story will not repeat itself.
"Our role in the semiconductor supply chain inherently limits our visibility and information available to us regarding the downstream use or user of final products that incorporate semiconductors manufactured by us," reads a statement by TSMC in its annual report. "This constraint impedes our ability to fully ensure that semiconductors manufactured by us will not be diverted to unintended end use or end-user, including potentially by our business partners, or by third parties with an intent of circumvention."
