BIS Should Expand New Rules on Surveillance Tech Exports, Group Says

New proposed rules for U.S. surveillance technology exports will help protect human rights worldwide, but additional steps should be taken to ensure American-made products aren't used to commit abuses, Freedom House said last week.

The proposed rules, which the Bureau of Industry and Security unveiled in late July (see 2407250032), would create new export controls on facial-recognition technology used for mass surveillance and crowd scanning, and would place new export restrictions on certain foreign governments and those working for them.

The policy alert, written by Jennifer Brody, Freedom House's deputy director of policy and advocacy for technology and democracy, recommends controlling other remote biometric identification technologies, including iris-recognition systems. “In addition to facial-recognition technology, it is well-documented that other remote biometric-enabled technologies, such as iris scanning, facilitate human rights violations and abuses,” Brody wrote.

The policy alert also recommends clarifying that the “intelligence end user” controls refer to both foreign and domestic intelligence gathering. It also suggests expanding the number of countries covered by the “foreign-security” and military end-user controls.

To increase transparency of exports, Freedom House encourages BIS to improve its Annual Country Licensing and Trade Analysis reports by making certain data available every six months, covering a greater number of countries, and providing specific information about the export of key technologies, such as facial recognition. "If BIS reporting is strengthened in these ways, it will be easier for civil society, media, academia, and other actors to track where and to whom US items are exported, which can inform research and advocacy efforts," Brody wrote.