On February 16, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Commerce announced the creation of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force. Under the leadership of Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod, the strike force will bring together government experts from the DOJ, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and 14 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to enforce U.S. export control laws by prosecuting and investigating potential violations, partnering with the private sector, coordinating enforcement with allied countries, training law enforcement officers, and strengthening connections between the collaborating agencies.
The strike force is part of a broader crackdown on technology exports to certain countries and entities that the U.S. government perceives as adversarial, especially China and Russia. The announcement highlights the use of artificial intelligence as a threat to U.S. national security when used by adversaries such as China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea for disruptive purposes such as improving calculations in weapons design and testing, improving the speed and accuracy of military or intelligence decision-making, and breaking or developing unbreakable encryption algorithms that protect sensitive communications and classified information. The Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce (BIS) has implemented increasingly strict export controls on sensitive technologies, including those “related to supercomputing and exascale computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing equipment and materials, quantum computing, and biosciences.” In February 2022, for example, BIS issued a final rule imposing severe restrictions on the export of a wide array of technologies that could contribute to Russia’s defense sector, including electronics, computers, and aircraft parts. Later that year, BIS implemented new export and end-use controls on certain types of semiconductor and supercomputer-related technology. These rules and others have created a complex web of controls that entities in Russia, China, and other countries are allegedly attempting to circumvent.
In its press release, the DOJ notes that sensitive technologies have legitimate commercial applications but stresses that more must be done to fight potential circumvention, strengthen supply chains, and protect critical technological assets. The strike force therefore aims to amplify the combined capabilities of the collaborating government agencies to stop the illicit export of technologies that “have the potential to alter the world’s balance of power,” according to Assistant Secretary Axelrod.
In light of these new efforts, companies that produce or export sensitive technologies should ensure that they have measures in place to protect their technologies, detect purchases that are part of an effort to circumvent the controls, and update their compliance programs to implement any new or changing regulations. For questions regarding U.S. export control laws, please contact any member of Wilson Sonsini's national security practice.
