New bill seeks ‘phase-out’ of LiDAR tech tied to foreign adversaries

New legislation from the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party would “phase-out the use” of Light Detection and Ranging — or LiDAR — technologies across the federal government and within critical infrastructure services if they are made by companies linked to adversarial nations, including China. 

LiDAR, a remote-sensing technology that uses pulsed laser light to map terrain, is used in autonomous vehicles, geographic information systems and other advanced capabilities. Chinese manufacturers, in particular, have secured a major foothold in the technology’s global supply chain, which has raised cybersecurity and national security concerns.

The measure, introduced on Wednesday by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., would prohibit U.S. companies from making new purchases of LiDAR products from foreign adversaries within three years of the bill’s passage. Critical infrastructure operators and other federal entities would also be directed to replace covered legacy LiDAR tech from their systems within five years of the bill’s enactment.

Read more at NextGov/FCW