Bipartisan Senators Ban Chinese Robots

0:00On March 26, two U.S. Senators from opposite parties are teaming up to introduce a bill banning the federal government from buying or using humanoid, robots made by Chinese companies. Tom Cotton from Arkansas and Chuck Schumer from New York plan to unveil the American Security Robotics Act, which would also block federal funds for any unmanned ground vehicles from nations like China. This push comes amid growing competition in the robotics world, where Chinese firms such as a G-bot and unitary are racing against the American players, like Tesla, to build bots for everything from factory jobs to home tasks. Several Chinese companies are even gearing up to go public on stock exchanges this year. Lawmakers worry these robots could spy by collecting data or be controlled remotely from overseas, posing risks to privacy and national security. Last year, some members of Congress pushed the Pentagon to flag one firm for ties to China's military. The bill includes carbouts allowing the military and police to study these robots, but only if they can't send or receive data back to China.

1:06Meanwhile, over in the House, Representative Elise Daphonic from New York is set to roll out a matching version. As tensions rise in the global tech race, this bipartisan effort signals stronger safeguards for US innovation and security down the line.