New US Export Control Effort to Increase Multilateral Oversight Over Sensitive Tech Exports
The U.S.’s new multilateral export control initiative includes a written “code of conduct” for licensing decisions for sensitive exports and new partnerships with allies to better control emerging technologies. The U.S. effort, previewed earlier this week ahead of the virtual democracy summit (see 2112090030), was officially announced Dec. 10 alongside Australia, Denmark and Norway, and includes support from other trading partners, including Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
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Over the next year, the U.S. will work with allies to develop a “voluntary” code of conduct that will “guide” how human rights concerns are applied to export licensing decisions for sensitive technologies, including surveillance tools and software, the White House said. The U.S. and others will also explore how to strengthen legal frameworks surrounding export controls, share information and develop best practices, the White House added. The countries also plan to hold consultations about the controls with industry, academics and other governments.
The effort will allow the U.S. to “take greater responsibility for the digital tools we export,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Dec. 10 during the summit. She said the initiative will lead to more strict licensing requirements for sensitive technologies, both in the U.S. and among its partners.
“All too often, a technology originates in a hub of innovation like the United States, and is exported to countries that use that technology to enable human rights abuses,” Power said. “As we apply more scrutiny over the export of these technologies, it is clear that we need to coordinate these efforts with other like minded countries so we are not undermining each other's efforts.”
She pointed to several recent steps the U.S. has already taken to penalize entities that develop surveillance tools for human rights violations, including the Commerce Department’s addition of Israel-based NSO Group, Russia’s Positive Technologies and Singapore’s Computer Security Initiative Consultancy to the Entity List in November (see 2111030010). “Together with Denmark, Norway and Australia, the United States will work together on export control policies to prevent technologies from falling into hands that would misuse them,” Power said.