Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill that aims to prevent advanced American chips from going to U.S. adversaries such as China. The Chip Security Act will provide increased oversight of advanced chips by establishing security measures.
“We must do better at maintaining and expanding our position in the global market, while safeguarding America’s technological edge,” Cotton commented May 8. “With these enhanced security measures, we can continue to expand access to U.S. technology without compromising our national security.”
DOD & Commerce Dept’s Roles
The Chip Security Act tasks the secretaries of the Department of Defense and Department of Commerce to explore potential mechanisms to protect semiconductors and then assess annually for three years if new security measures should be required.
Under the bill, export-controlled advanced chips will also come equipped with location verification. Exporters will have to report to the Bureau of Industry and Security if their products are diverted away from their intended route or if there were attempts to tamper with security measures.
The proposed legislation comes months after BIS introduced three strategies for regulating the distribution of advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence models to prevent malicious actors from accessing American technologies.
