On February 16, 2023, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that the DOJ and the Commerce Department were launching the “Disruptive Technology Strike Force,” to be led jointly by the DOJ’s National Security Division and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), that “will focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal violations of export laws.” (DOJ Press Release, Justice and Commerce Departments Announce Creation of Disruptive Technology Strike Force, February 16, 2023.)
According to the announcement, the Disruptive Technology Strike Force will seek to “protect critical technological assets from being acquired or used by nation-state adversaries,” specifically referencing technologies acquired by “the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia . . . to enhance their military capabilities or support mass surveillance programs that enable human rights abuses.” (Id.) The specific technologies referenced in the announcement include “those related to supercomputing and exascale computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing equipment and materials, quantum computing, and biosciences,” all of which have commercial uses but could “threaten U.S. national security when used by adversaries for disruptive purposes.” (Id.)