Brown is Leading Efforts to Stop China from Infiltrating American Auto Industry
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is pushing the Biden Administration to ban all Chinese internet-connected vehicles and smart vehicle technology that is designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied from China. Connected vehicles – both those with internal combustion engines and electric vehicles – collect, transmit, and store a range of sensitive information, including biometric data like fingerprints and voice recordings, vehicle location, sensor data and images, financial information, and vehicle information. Chinese-made cars and the underlying technology enable the Chinese Communist Party to access sensitive personal data of Americans and of critical U.S. infrastructure, presenting unacceptable national security risks.
Brown is calling on the Administration to act before Chinese-manufactured connected vehicles become widespread in the United States, and submitted this public comment letter to the Department of Commerce as they work to finalize rules regarding connected vehicles.
“Given the access and information that connected vehicles have regarding both Americans’ sensitive personal data and U.S. infrastructure, I encourage you to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that includes prohibitions on finished vehicles and technology that is designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Given China’s civil-military fusion, it is inevitable that both finished vehicles and technology would enable the Chinese Communist Party to access sensitive personal data of Americans and of critical U.S. infrastructure,” said Brown.
Brown is leading efforts to stop China from infiltrating the American auto industry. Last month, in a letter to President Biden, Brown called for the U.S. to ban Chinese-made electric vehicles to combat the economic and national security threats posed by Chinese automakers. Last week, he also slammed the Biden Administration’s decision to allow the electric vehicle tax credit to go toward cars made using a key battery component from China. He has also pressed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to ensure that taxpayer dollars under the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit cannot go to Chinese companies assembling parts in the United States.
The full letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Executive Director Cannon:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Department of Commerce’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANRPM) on connected vehicles. This ANRPM is an important step toward addressing national security threats posed by connected vehicles and their associated technology. While connected vehicles are an essential means of personal and commercial transportation that allows Americans to drive to work, go to medical appointments, and carry out daily activities, the underlying technology powering these vehicles also present risks to U.S. national security. Given the access and information that connected vehicles have regarding both Americans’ sensitive personal data and U.S. infrastructure, I encourage you to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that includes prohibitions on finished vehicles and technology that is designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Given China’s civil-military fusion, it is inevitable that both finished vehicles and technology would enable the Chinese Communist Party to access sensitive personal data of Americans and of critical U.S. infrastructure.
In his February 29 statement on addressing national security risks to the U.S. auto industry, President Biden described connected cars as “smart phones on wheels,” and noted that, “these cars are connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure, and to the companies that made them. Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the PRC. These vehicles could be remotely accessed or disabled.” He also said that China imposes restrictions on American autos operating in China, and he asked an important question, “Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?”
The answer is that connected vehicles from China – and vehicles that use hardware and software designed or manufactured in China – should not be allowed to operate in the United States without clear and extensive safeguards.
Connected vehicles collect, transmit, and store a range of sensitive information, including biometric data like fingerprints and voice recordings, vehicle location, sensor data and images, financial information, and vehicle information. When used appropriately, this information provides American families with safer, more fuel-efficient vehicles, eases traffic congestion, and reduces the number of traffic accidents. But this same technology and information also presents national security risks – whether they be backdoors that could allow vehicles to be accessed remotely or disabled or information or data that could be exploited to harm American families. Certain connected vehicles plug into electrical charging stations that could be targeted by malicious actors to affect vehicle performance or electrical grid infrastructure.
The ANRPM notes that the PRC presents a “particularly acute and persistent threat to the United States information and communications technology and services supply chain,” and outlines the Chinese legal structure that drives concerns about the inclusion of Chinese information and communications technology and services (ICTS) and data access in connected vehicles. Because of China’s 2015 National Security Law, its 2017 National Intelligence Law, and its 2021 Data Security Law, the Chinese government can access personal data, such as data collected by connected vehicles, and compel companies located in the PRC to cooperate with PRC intelligence and security services. The result is that Chinese companies would be instruments of the Chinese military and intelligence apparatus. This legal structure and concerns around China’s access to the Americans’ sensitive personal data are what motivated recent congressional action – from updates to U.S. investment screening laws to legislation passed last week like the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.
This rulemaking is an important opportunity for the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services to establish rules that recognize and address the national security threats posed by advanced Chinese technology and access to sensitive data. I encourage you to carefully consider public comments provided during this ANRPM comment period and to move with deliberate speed to the next stage of this rulemaking process by issuing a NPRM that addresses the unacceptable risks posed by Chinese vehicles and information and communications technology and services that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied from the PRC that would enable the Chinese Communist Party access to sensitive personal data or U.S. infrastructure.