US seeks to ban Chinese software from cars, citing national security concerns

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration is looking to ban Chinese-made software from cars because of national security concerns, the Commerce Department announced on Monday.

The Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the Commerce Department, is expected to publish a rule that “focuses on hardware and software” of the software connected in cars and developed in China.

“Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “To address these national security concerns, the Commerce Department is taking targeted, proactive steps to keep PRC and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads.”

The software could be exploited by malicious Chinese actors, and in some cases “allow for external connectivity and autonomous driving capabilities in connected vehicles,” the Commerce Department said.

The proposed rule would apply to all wheeled on-road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses, but would exclude vehicles not used on public roads like agricultural or mining vehicles, and would start to take effect in 2027 models, and be fully integrated in 2030 models.

The rule also bans technology with a nexus to the PRC or Russia from selling connected vehicles that incorporate hardware or software in the United States, even if the vehicle was made in the United States.

This is the most recent step in the Biden administration’s economic actions against China.

Earlier this year, the Biden Administration increased tariff’s on steel and aluminum, semiconductors and electric vehicles.

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