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US House backs NDAA ban on Chinese-made humanoid robots for defense use
The bill would bar the Pentagon from procuring, leasing, or operating certain humanoid robotic systems tied to China, Russia, and Iran, but leaves commercial sales outside the military scope for now.
The US House of Representatives has passed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), expanding US scrutiny of Chinese technology into humanoid robots, as lawmakers address national security and data privacy concerns in the context of intensifying US-China tech rivalry.
Under Section 163 of the draft bill, the Pentagon would be barred from procuring, leasing, or operating covered humanoid robotic systems linked to designated foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran.
The defence bill incorporates elements of the proposed Guarding the US Against Adversarial Robotics Dominance (GUARD) Act but stops short of its broader approach. In particular, it does not include the GUARD Act’s proposal to evaluate Chinese humanoid and quadruped “robot dog” systems for inclusion on the Federal Communications Commission’s “Covered List.”
Because Section 163 is limited to military procurement, the SCMP Economy reports that lawmakers have left commercial sales of the robots untouched for now, at least under the provisions contained in the NDAA that the House has passed.