Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is calling on the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to tighten up its proposed regulations that aim to keep American technologies and expertise out of the hands of repressive foreign nations.
The proposed rules stem from a 2022 law that Sen. Wyden co-authored, which gave BIS the authority to regulate the export of all technology products and services to foreign military, intelligence, and security agencies.
The Commerce Department has made progress in implementing the law, but Sen. Wyden said in an Oct. 31 letter to BIS that it needs to “further strengthen” the proposed regulations to expand the list of applicable countries and close loopholes.
“While the proposed rules would be a major step forward for human rights and U.S. security, some gaps exist that are likely to limit their effectiveness,” Sen. Wyden wrote.
For instance, Sen. Wyden said that BIS needs to extend the export controls to additional countries, as the proposed list “omits many regimes that have troubling human rights records.”
The senator wants BIS to create a list of “trusted countries that have strong track records of respecting human rights and that do not pose an espionage or cyber threat to the United States.” He said any country not on that list should require a license to do business with intelligence and security agencies.
Additionally, Sen. Wyden said the proposed rules are ambiguous when it comes to a U.S. company doing business with a private foreign company that provides products or services to intelligence or security agencies in designated countries.
“The rules contain a loophole: no license would be required if the foreign company does not disclose its client list. And as a general rule, surveillance companies such as spyware providers don’t reveal which governments they sell to,” Sen. Wyden wrote.
“BIS should close this loophole by clarifying that the export restrictions apply to exports and services provided to all foreign companies that have not provided their U.S-suppliers with a sworn attestation that their clients do not include any intelligence or security end users in any country outside the trusted countries list,” he added.
Finally, the senator said BIS should also control the export of all biometric surveillance technologies, including facial recognition technologies.
“While these technologies do not directly identify individuals, they can still enable oppressive surveillance. BIS should also add a category for biometric classification technologies to the [Commerce Control List],” he said.
The Commerce Department first published the proposed rules in July with public comments due by Sept. 27, but it announced in September an extension of the public comment period to Oct. 15.
