A bipartisan, bicameral group of U.S. lawmakers is rallying together to urge House and Senate support for an international commission that is developing a global technology security strategy to counter the threat of “techno-authoritarianism” posed by China and other U.S. adversaries.
In an April 11 letter, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Todd Young R-Ind. and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. urged fellow lawmakers to support the Global Tech Security Commission and its effort “to advance liberty and prosperity across allied democracies and promote a high-tech, innovation-driven job market in America.”
The Global Tech Security Commission, launched in May 2022, is a partnership between the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University and the Atlantic Council working, and is working to develop a global technology security strategy that safeguards freedom through the adoption of trusted technology.
Notably, the five lawmakers who signed the letter all serve as honorary co-chairs of the commission. Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va. and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., Mike Waltz, R-Fla. and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. are also honorary co-chairs of the commission.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle recognize that the United States and the free world face ever-increasing technological threats from authoritarian regimes, such as Russia, China, Iran, and others.
To counter these types of threats, lawmakers should engage with the commission to ensure that the U.S. and its international allies are working together “across a range of critical technology issues in the face of rising authoritarianism around the world,” the letter states.
The global technology security strategy the commission is developing will include a comprehensive set of offensive and defensive strategies for national security technology sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and semiconductors.
The development of the strategy will help “rally and unify like-minded countries, leverage the innovation and resources of the private sector, and build a global network to develop, protect and adopt trusted technologies,” the letter reads.
