Don’t tune out America’s national security infrastructure 

This year, Congress has generated significant media headlines for minimizing the troves of data Big Tech collects on the American people. It’s even considering banning Chinese apps, such as TikTok, that risk empowering the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of this country’s safety and security. What hasn’t received as many headlines, however, is nearly a quarter of the legislative branch’s quest to keep AM radios in Americans’ vehicles through the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which readers may be surprised to hear is just as crucial for squelching this data threat.

In an effort to suck up as much of their drivers’ data as possible, some electric vehicle makers are removing AM radios from their car dashes. This is because AM radio does not collect data on listeners, and it’s not trackable like the new digital infotainment systems are. Removing AM radio — as opposed to protecting consumer choice by resolving the interference that their EV motors cause with the AM signal, as other automakers have done — is allowing some car companies to maximize the data they can collect, use, and sell, but at what cost?

For one, carmakers are becoming data giants comparable in size to Big Tech. McKinsey estimates that “the overall revenue pool from car data monetization at a global scale might add up to USD 450-750 billion by 2030.” That will bring the same concerns over data privacy and security to America’s roadways.

For another, Chinese automakers like Volvo and Lotus must comply with the same Military-Civil Fusion laws that TikTok and other problem Chinese apps must follow. That means the same data TikTok security concerns apply but with even more in-depth personal information in play, from when they leave the house to their driving patterns and histories. 

American carmakers are not immune from this China data threat either. U.S. and other vehicle manufacturers have yet to modernize their security infrastructures with the modern-digital age. Over the last year, attacks using APIs (the software intermediaries that allow most Americans’ technology to hum) in the automotive industry have surged by over 380 percent, and 34 percent of auto employees admitting their company receives more security threats now than two years ago. China is one of the global leaders in API attacks, and U.S. attorneys have already warned automakers to watch out for the country’s theft of their personal information. 

Even aside from exacerbating the growing China espionage threat, removing AM radios poses significant national security concerns that cannot be ignored. 

All seven FEMA administrators from the past four presidential administrations recently asked Congress and the Department of Transportation for their help in combatting this growing trend of AM radio removal. In a letter to these policymakers, they wrote that, “because of the great distance that its signal carries, and due to its resiliency during even the worst natural disasters, the success of the National Public Warning System hinges on the use of AM radio.”

That is no small concern. The National Public Warning System is the only method the government has to reach every part of the country at once, and on multiple occasions, it’s been the only way the American people have been able to obtain life-saving news and information when their cellphone, Internet, and TV connections have gone out during natural disasters. That is why a coalition of 16 Democratic and Republican attorneys general are also backing Congress’ effort to protect AM radio — because they recognize “AM radio stations are vital to disseminating information in times of crisis.” 

Automakers are not deliberately putting America’s national public warning infrastructure in harm’s way, but that is what they are doing by taking AM radios out of the cars on the country’s roadways.

This is not something policymakers can afford to let happen. They already have a significant Chinese data espionage problem to worry about; they do not need to get any worse.

The 130 Republican and Democratic U.S. House members and 24 U.S. senators currently backing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act are doing the right thing. In this day and age, it is extremely rare for a bill to garner this much bipartisan support. Congressional leadership should capitalize on it by calling it for a roll call vote before the year’s end.

Jianli Yang is founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China and the author of Its Time for a Values-Based “Economic NATO”.