Overview
- Senators Tom Cotton and Chuck Schumer introduced the American Security Robotics Act on Thursday, which would block federal agencies from buying or using unmanned ground vehicles from adversary countries including China.
- The sponsors say Chinese-made robots could capture images, audio, or location data inside U.S. facilities or accept remote commands from operators in China.
- The bill bars the use of federal funds tied to the restricted robots and allows only narrow military and police research if the machines cannot send or receive data to or from China.
- In the House, Representative Elise Stefanik plans a companion measure, signaling support across both chambers and parties.
- The push follows recent U.S. actions on Chinese technology, including the FCC adding some foreign-made consumer routers to a security list and steps to limit Chinese drone imports, while reporters note it is unclear how widely federal agencies use Chinese robots today.