New House Bill Would Curb Cloud Exports to China

A bipartisan group of four House members introduced a bill last week they said would close an export control loophole that has allowed China to access advanced U.S. computing chips remotely.

Although chip controls that the Bureau of Industry and Security released in October 2022 and expanded a year later (see 2310170055) are designed to prevent China from obtaining critical technology to enhance its military capabilities, Chinese companies are using cloud service providers to circumvent the restrictions, the lawmakers said.

Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Jeff Jackson, D-N.C.; Rich McCormick, R-Ga.; and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, introduced the Remote Access Security Act, which was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Bureau of Industry and Security has been considering potential restrictions on remote access to advanced chips. Some public comments submitted to the agency have argued that country-wide controls would go too far and that entity-specific restrictions would be more reasonable (see 2402020050).