Commerce Should Explain Trade Promotion of ‘Dangerous’ Surveillance Tech, Senator Says
The Commerce Department needs to answer for its promotion of “dangerous surveillance technology” in foreign markets and the steps it’s taking to make sure the technology isn’t being used to violate human rights, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a letter last week to the agency and its International Trade Administration. Wyden said the ITA confirmed to him last year that it “provides assistance to companies selling such technologies, including to foreign governments,” but the agency declined to provide details about those activities, citing “unspecified potential legal barriers.”
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In a follow-up meeting in March, the ITA again declined to provide information on the trade promotion activities but said it’s working on a new policy to govern how its Foreign Commercial Service officers “interact with surveillance technology providers going forward.” Wyden said the agency also has “refused” to provide more information about this new policy.
He asked Commerce to disclose which surveillance technology companies it’s helping, what kind of assistance it’s offering, what kind of training Commerce officials receive about these technologies and more. “Given the Administration’s stated interest in limiting the human rights abuses made possible by these technologies,” Wyden said, “ITA must be transparent about its past and current promotion of these technologies abroad.” A Commerce spokesperson said May 30 that the agency has "received the letter and will respond through appropriate channels."