Statement from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on the RESTRICT Act

The Justice Department today issued the following statement from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on the RESTRICT Act:

“The Department of Justice has no greater responsibility than protecting the American people. As our nation’s lead law enforcement and domestic counterintelligence agency, the department is a key first line of defense against foreign adversaries that seek to collect and weaponize Americans’ most sensitive data. These regimes are increasingly using untrustworthy information and communications technology products and services, along with the data they collect, against us. We — and the legal authorities we rely on to protect the American people — must evolve, just as these regimes and the technologies they exploit do.

“The RESTRICT Act represents a crucial step forward. It recognizes that today we face acute threats from certain high-risk information and communications technology products and services sourced from foreign adversaries. It would modernize our tools to better address these threats and would enable the Administration to take new actions that are critical to protecting U.S. national security. It also recognizes that we face systemic threats from a range of technology products and services sourced from foreign adversaries and would enable regulation across entire categories of high-risk technology sectors. By directing a coordinated and analytic process across the federal government to evaluate risks, the RESTRICT Act would employ a forward-thinking, evidence-based approach in a constantly changing technology landscape. In giving the President and the Secretary of Commerce key authorities to protect the American people, the RESTRICT Act would provide the federal government a strong legal foundation to combat current and evolving threats. The RESTRICT Act would also ensure that the Department of Justice has the authorities we need to go after adversaries and enablers who violate the law and put our people and businesses at risk.

“The Department of Justice commends the bipartisan group of senators working together on this significant legislation, in particular Senator Warner and Senator Thune, as well as their staff, whom the Administration was pleased to work with in support of this bill. We look forward to working with members on both sides of the aisle to advance this legislation through Congress and send it to the President’s desk.”