Commerce Considers Regulating Connected Vehicles To Protect Against Foreign Adversaries

On March 1, 2024, at the direction of President Biden, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on the proposed regulation of transactions involving Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) that are integral for connected vehicles (CVs). Specifically, BIS is probing the vulnerabilities and threats that could arise if entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries (see 15 C.F.R. § 7.4(a)) gained access to CV systems or data. Comments on the ANPRM are due Tuesday, April 30, 2024. This new effort continues a trend by the Administration to expand the regulation and security of ICTS across the economy. It should be closely followed by the auto and telecommunication sectors as well as more broadly in the ICTS supply chain because it signals increasing scrutiny of vulnerabilities arising