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The sale and use of Chinese robots could be banned across the American government under a proposed new law.
As reported by Reuters, two US senators are pushing a draft bill that would introduce a government-wide ban on humanoid robots manufactured in China.
Called the American Security Robotics Act, the bill is backed by Republican Arkansas senator Tom Cotton and Democrat New York senator Chuck Schumer. Cotton is the third most senior Republican senator, while Schumer is the top Democrat in the chamber.
As well as preventing US federal workers from purchasing Chinese robots, the proposed law would also stop people from using public funds to acquire them.
The bill follows US concerns that the Chinese government could use Chinese-made robots sold in the States to spy on US citizens and to gain access to critical infrastructure.
Robots are not the first Chinese-made technology to be barred from US government use. Telecommunications equipment, video surveillance kit and drones already sit on a list of technologies banned across federal departments.
The recent shift in TikTok’s US operations from full ownership by Chinese social media company ByteDance to majority control by a consortium of US-led investors was also ordered by the US government over national security concerns.
If the law came into force, there would still be cases where the US government could use Chinese robots. For example, the Pentagon could be allowed to deploy them for research, as long as it could ensure that China could not use them for spying.
In a statement reported by Reuters, Cotton said: “Robots made by Communist China threaten Arkansans’ privacy and our national security.”
