Wyden Questions Commerce Department’s Surveillance Tech Promotion

The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration needs to be transparent about its promotion of surveillance technology in foreign markets, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Friday. He submitted a series of questions to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, asking how the ITA is taking steps to “prevent such technology sales from harming human rights.” He noted ITA informed his office in 2022 it “promoted the sale of surveillance technology, but declined to share which products it promoted, or which foreign markets it targeted.” In March, ITA told his office it “issued a new policy to restrict promotion of surveillance products, but refused to share that policy without a formal letter,” according to Wyden. “Given the Administration’s stated interest in limiting the human rights abuses made possible by these technologies, ITA must be transparent about its past and current promotion of these technologies abroad,” he wrote to Raimondo. He’s seeking answers about how ITA works with companies and the legal restrictions on such action. The department didn’t comment.