BIS Should Consider Placing UAE Firm on Entity List for China Ties, Lawmaker Says
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, has urged the Commerce Department to consider placing the United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm Group 42 Holdings (G42) on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, citing possible export control risks from the company’s work with China’s military, intelligence services and state-owned companies.
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In a letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and publicly released on Jan. 9, Gallagher wrote that while the State Department imposed export control violation fines on former American employees of DarkMatter Group (see 2109150031), a G42 affiliate that develops tools that can be used to spy on dissidents, journalists, politicians and U.S. companies, “BIS has failed to place any restrictions on DarkMatter, G42, or their affiliated companies."
The letter also expresses concern that G42 maintains relationships with blacklisted entities, including Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) and Huawei. It said existing restrictions on those entities aren't enough.
“Without new restrictions against G42, the company’s extensive AI capabilities will provide much-needed analytical capacity for BGI to exploit the data it has collected from American citizens, to include millions of pregnant women,” Gallagher wrote. “Relatedly, export controls against Huawei will be further undermined if Huawei can access and/or acquire advanced AI hardware and cloud computing services through its partners like G42.”
Gallagher also raised concern that multiple U.S. companies that sell export-controlled products, including Dell, Microsoft and OpenAI, do business with G42, leaving them susceptible to China-directed intellectual property theft. “Without restrictions on G42, the hardware and software developed by these U.S. companies are at significant risk for diversion to G42’s [China]-based affiliates, many of which support [China’s] surveillance state and human rights abuses,” the letter says.
Gallagher also said G42 has ties to a Chinese scientist who stole U.S. military-funded research from the University of California Los Angeles to create a new Chinese government laboratory called the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI). “Ensuring that no further dual-use research or controlled technology is routed to G42 via BIGAI requires BIS action to investigate DarkMatter and other G42 affiliates" in China, the letter says.
Gallagher urged Commerce to scrutinize 12 G42 subsidiaries and affiliates in addition to G42 itself: G42 Shanghai Investment Co. Ltd., Presight AI, Hayat BioTech, Pegasus Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Beijing Qingzi Future Network Technology Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Heygears Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Yeecall Interactive Network Technology Co. Ltd., Dark Matter AI Technology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd. (aka “DarkMatter AI”), Dark Matter (Hong Kong) Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., Dark Matter (Beijing) Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., Dark Matter (Shenzhen) Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., and Dark Matter (Chengdu) Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd.
In a statement, a Commerce spokesperson said “we have received the letter and will respond through the appropriate channels.” G42 didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.