US plans phased security ban on China-, Russia-made connected vehicle software

The proposed rule will target Chinese and Russian technology for automated driving and communications systems

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Cars at a port in eastern China before they are loaded for export. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:45pm, 23 Sep 2024Updated: 10:57pm, 23 Sep 2024

US President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed rules that would ban hardware and software made by Chinese and Russian companies for connected vehicles, deepening the US government’s efforts to address concerns that they say could become national security vulnerabilities.

After months of meetings with carmakers and industry experts to understand how such a move would affect the sector, officials in the US Commerce Department and the White House are planning a phased approach, the administration said on Monday.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the plan was to phase in bans on the use of Chinese and Russian technology for automated driving systems and vehicle communications systems.

If China or Russia “could collect data on where the driver lives, or what school their kids go to, where their doctor is, that’s data that would leave that American vulnerable”, she told reporters in a conference call.

“A foreign adversary could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time, causing crashes, blocking roads, et cetera,” Raimondo said.

“In Europe and elsewhere in the world, they went from very few Chinese cars to many very quickly because of the PRC’s non-market practices. With other industries we know the Chinese playbook: they subsidise. So we’re not going to wait until our roads are filled with cars and the risk is extremely significant.”