After semiconductors, advanced technologies and personal data, it is now the turn of connected vehicles and embedded software to be at the heart of Washington’s attention. The American government announced on Thursday February 29 that it was launching an investigation into the risks that connected vehicles and related components from China may represent.
The Department of Commerce has launched a public inquiry open to all in order to “determine to what extent the technology embedded in these vehicles makes it possible to capture a lot of data and act remotely on these vehicles” and what corrective measures are necessary.
“Our concerns are growing”
In a statement, US President Joe Biden justified this decision by the fact that “connected vehicles from China can collect sensitive data on our citizens and our infrastructure and send it directly to China”. “China imposes restrictions on cars from the United States and other countries driving in China. Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to drive in our country without safeguards?” Joe Biden asked.
Under these conditions, it is important for the United States to have “a precise idea of the potential risks to national security associated with connected vehicles”, insisted for her part, during a press conference, the Secretary of Commerce , Gina Raimondo. “The more we work on Chinese electric vehicles, the more our concerns grow.” Joe Biden’s announcement comes just 24 hours after the American president signed an executive order aimed at “preventing the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to sensitive countries”, first and foremost China.
“A discriminatory approach”
For Thibault Denamiel, of the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS), this announcement “is a new observation by the Biden administration that emerging critical technologies concern both the economy and national security”.
The American Industry Federation, through its president Scott Paul, welcomed the opening allowed by this announcement, hoping that it “will quickly lead to concrete actions”. Questioned by AFP, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, however, judged that this investigation “is clearly a discriminatory approach”. “China firmly opposes the United States’ generalization of the concept of national security and the instrumentalization of economic and trade issues,” he added.
An “incredible level of information” transmitted abroad
The objective of the public inquiry launched by the Commerce Department is to better assess, beyond connected vehicles from Chinese manufacturers or manufactured in China, the importance of software and components from this country overall. of the connected vehicle supply chain. And it will not only target Chinese vehicles but those from other brands as well which could integrate these components or software.
“We don’t know the risks and their importance well, so we need information to determine what actions to take,” said Gina Raimondo. “This involves an incredible level of information that you think is private but can be transmitted abroad. Data from your phone that syncs to your car, your messages, your emails, your location, your finances, your health , everything is vulnerable,” recalled the Commerce Secretary. “But that’s not the only worry,” added Gina Raimondo, “imagine thousands or hundreds of thousands of Chinese connected cars on American roads that could be disabled in an instant and simultaneously by someone in Beijing.” .
According to an American official interviewed by AFP, it is necessary to act quickly because “the Chinese automobile market is progressing rapidly in exports and is establishing itself strongly in other countries, including in Europe”, where growth is ” truly exponential. Joe Biden sees the open investigation as a way to counter the development of Chinese automobile manufacturers “in particular by using unfair practices”. “China could overwhelm our market with its vehicles, which will represent a risk to our national security. I will not let that happen,” insisted the American president.