Automakers: FCC Rules on Connected Vehicles Would Harm Industry Competition
Automakers were united in raising concerns about an FCC proposal to update its “covered list” of unsecure companies to reflect a January finding by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on connected vehicles (see 2505270059). Many groups have already opposed the proposal (see 2506300052). In filings Thursday and Friday, four automakers weighed in separately in docket 18-89, arguing that the proposal works against the Trump administration's goal of reinvigorating U.S. auto manufacturing.
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Volkswagen Group of America said the proposed update to the covered list appears to “be inconsistent with the BIS Rule and not required by” the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. “As a result, if implemented, the proposal will hinder the Trump Administration’s broader policy priorities, including efforts to mitigate foreign adversary risks while simultaneously rejuvenating American automotive manufacturing.” The FCC should work with BIS and other national security agencies “to identify threats to U.S. national security, and to only update the Covered List pursuant to ‘specific determinations’ under the" secure networks law, the company said.
Hyundai Motor Group said it supports making devices more secure, and the FCC’s proposed update would include the same broad product categories covered by the BIS rule. But Hyundai is concerned that “the FCC update would be in conflict with the carefully defined limitations and, importantly, detailed processes to provide exemptions, general authorizations, specific authorizations, and advisory opinions” in the BIS rule, the company said. “The FCC’s proposal leaves out … key aspects of the BIS Rule that make the Rule more effective and implementable.”
Overlapping requirements from the FCC “risks misalignment with BIS regulations and could create confusion and compliance burdens for manufacturers,” said American Honda Motor. “This could inadvertently hinder innovation and delay deployment of advanced vehicle technologies in the United States.” Porsche Cars North America said an alignment of FCC and BIS rules would be “beneficial for consumers as consistent requirements help control costs, and ultimately prices for new cars.”
Bryan Burack, senior policy adviser at the Heritage Foundation, urged the FCC to develop an approach beyond adding entities to its covered list. Using entity-specific listings to implement the Commerce Department’s connected-vehicle determinations “would be incomplete, ineffective, and quickly outdated,” he said.
The approach would “fail to fully implement the Commerce determination, as the Commerce regulations are not limited to a particular set of Chinese and Russian entities," Burack said. Instead, the FCC should “list categories of connected vehicle technology” and “apply its rules to all such technology in the United States, rather than create novel exemptions for entities that deal in such equipment but are not identified on the Covered List.”