U.S. Moves to Protect Technologies Considered Critical to National Security
Guidelines outline how to prevent advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries
WASHINGTON—Artificial intelligence, quantum information science and semiconductors are on a new list of advanced technologies that the U.S. is aiming to protect under guidelines being released Thursday.
The technologies on the list, which is being released by the White House’s National Security Council, are considered critical to the country’s national security position, including military, intelligence and economic interests.
The list will be accompanied by a report that gives government agencies specific guidelines on how to prevent the technologies from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, such as China, according to a senior administration official.
The report, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, noted that China is spending heavily to overtake the U.S.’s lead in several top innovation areas.
That includes by “employing means that include stealing technology, coercing companies to disclose intellectual property, undercutting free and fair markets, failing to provide reciprocal access in research and development projects and promoting authoritarian practices that run counter to democratic values,” the report said.
The new initiative is meant to signal U.S. government departments and agencies to rally around the country’s existing network of researchers, academics and the private sector players that turn ideas into innovations that strengthen U.S. national security, the senior official said.
It is the first governmentwide directive for federal agencies to give priority to protecting a centrally designated set of technologies, the official said. Previously, guarding those technologies was up to divisions within State, Defense, Commerce and other departments.
“What’s new here is a whole-of-government approach,” the senior official said.
The list of 20 technologies also includes advanced computing, biotech and aero-engine technology. It builds upon an earlier list of technologies, including neurotech and quantum encryption, that Commerce Department officials have guarded as they regulate which high-tech U.S. items can be shipped overseas under existing federal export control laws.
The report included ways for federal agencies and other groups to protect U.S. technology, including by encouraging the private sector to consider national security implications of pursuits that involve critical technology. It also called for a strong export control system that regulates which U.S. technologies can be sent overseas.
Commerce officials have expanded their watch over critical technologies since Congress passed new rules in 2018 calling for strengthened U.S. export controls.
The release of protected technologies comes as China and Russia are racing to advance their own military capabilities.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s spending on research and development projects has fallen below the level that private-sector enterprises have spent annually since 1980, the report said.
“As a result, America’s lead in certain [critical and emerging technology] sectors is declining. The United States will take meaningful action to reverse this trend,” according to the 18-page report.
The report also outlined steps that federal agencies should take to promote innovation within the U.S. industrial base, including fostering ideas from inventors and cutting back on regulations, policies and bureaucratic processes that currently stifle industry growth.
National Security Council staff plan to update the list annually, the report said.