US proposes ban on smart cars with Chinese and Russian technology

The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday will propose a ban on the sale or import of intelligent vehicles that use specific Chinese or Russian technologies due to national security concerns, U.S. officials said.

A U.S. government investigation launched in February has found that software and hardware from China and Russia in American vehicles pose a range of national security risks, including the possibility of remote sabotage through hacking and collecting drivers’ personal information, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters on a conference call Sunday.

“In extreme situations, a foreign adversary could disable or take control of all of its vehicles operating in the United States at the same time, causing accidents or blocking roads,” she added.

The rule will not apply to cars already on the road in the U.S. that have Chinese software installed, a senior administration official told CNN. The software ban will go into effect for vehicles from the 2027 “model year,” and the hardware ban for the 2030 “model year,” according to the Commerce Department.

The proposed regulatory actions are part of a much broader dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, over securing supply chains for key future computing technology, from semiconductors to AI software.

China in particular has invested heavily in the connected car market, and the expansion of Chinese manufacturers into the European market has worried US authorities.

As CNN previously reported, the Chinese government has its own concerns about the data collected by Tesla (TSLA) vehicles, and some Chinese government bodies have banned the vehicles from entering their territories.

The Commerce Department’s proposed rule applies to “connected vehicles,” a broad term for virtually any modern car, bus or truck that uses network connections for roadside assistance, satellite communications or a range of other functions. It includes hardware and software that interact with key technology that allows a vehicle to communicate with the outside world, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular technology.

A senior administration official told reporters there will be a 30-day public comment period on the proposed rule, and the Commerce Department aims to issue a final rule before the end of the Biden administration. On Monday, the Biden administration will also release an economic analysis of the projected costs to automakers and consumers that would have to comply with the proposed rule, the official said.

Raimondo said Monday’s announcement was not a protectionist move, a charge made by Chinese critics.

“This is not a matter of trade or economic gain,” Raimondo said. “This is strictly a matter of national security.”

“For example, if (China) or Russia could collect data on where a driver lives, what school his children go to, where (his) doctor is, that data would put an American at risk,” she said.

U.S. authorities are concerned that electric car charging stations and other infrastructure equipped with certain hardware or software could be exploited by hackers with ties to China, Russia or other foreign countries.

“We’ve seen ample evidence that the People’s Republic of China has pre-planted malware into our critical infrastructure for the purpose of disruption and sabotage,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on a conference call, using an acronym for the Chinese government. If millions more smart cars with vulnerable Chinese-made technology appear on U.S. roads, “the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically,” he said.

The Chinese government has denied U.S. accusations that Chinese hackers have built into American infrastructure.

“China opposes the U.S. expansion of the concept of national security and discriminatory actions against Chinese companies and products,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement. “We urge the U.S. side to respect market principles and provide an open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.”

It’s the latest example of the Commerce Department trying to use its sweeping regulatory powers to protect American consumers from foreign-made software it deems a national security threat.

In June, the department banned the sale and provision of certain products and services from Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, whose antivirus software is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

CNN’s Shawn Deng contributed to this report.
CNN Television™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.