Letter to Commerce on Regulation of Foreign Adversary Drones Operating in the U.S.

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 wrote to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, requesting that the Department consider regulating Chinese drones operating in the United States that pose an espionage, data collection, and national security risk.

Earlier this year, President Biden directed the Department of Commerce to develop regulations against foreign adversary-made internet connected cars in the United States, citing the national security vulnerabilities of vehicles mapping U.S. critical infrastructure and collecting information on the car, its surroundings, and its occupants that may be susceptible to exploitation. The Biden Administration particularly focused on the national security risks posed by vehicles made in China, noting these technologies can be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese intelligence services.

Earlier this year, the Department of Commerce solicited feedback as it develops the new regulations against foreign adversary vehicles. Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi expressed their view that that new regulations on internet connected vehicles should also include Chinese drones. Alternatively, the lawmakers request that the Department initiate a separate investigation to mitigate risks and restrict these drones from 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 text of the letter HERE.