WASHINGTON, DC—Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party have written to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. They requested that the Department consider regulating Chinese drones operating in the United States due to concerns about espionage, data collection, and national security risks.
Earlier this year, President Biden directed the Department of Commerce to develop regulations against foreign adversary-made internet-connected cars in the United States. The directive cited national security vulnerabilities associated with vehicles mapping U.S. critical infrastructure and collecting information on their surroundings and occupants, which may be susceptible to exploitation. The Biden Administration has particularly focused on national security risks posed by vehicles made in China, noting that these technologies can be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese intelligence services.
The Department of Commerce solicited feedback earlier this year as it develops new regulations against foreign adversary vehicles. Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi expressed their view that new regulations on internet-connected vehicles should also include Chinese drones. Alternatively, they request that the Department initiate a separate investigation to mitigate risks and restrict these drones from operating in the United States.
The lawmakers wrote, “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle companies headquartered in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) control 90 percent of the U.S. consumer market for drones and 70 percent of the global drone market. With UAVs’ connected software and hardware posing similar national security threats to those of other identified connected vehicles, such transactions present undue and unacceptable risks to U.S. national security."
Read the lawmakers’ letter to the Department of Commerce HERE.
