Georgia has emerged as an early leader in passing policies restricting Chinese tech infiltration. In the latest action, Georgia State Rep. Martin Momtahan who authored Georgia’s law that prohibits enterprises owned or operated by the People’s Republic of China from submitting bids for state contracts (SB 346) this week issued a letter to Georgia’s Department of Administrative Services urging the law to be enforced.
Since Governor Kemp signed the bill into law in May 2022, other states have followed and have taken action. In September, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis released Executive Order 22-216 directing his state’s Department of Management Services to counter Chinese tech threats. In addition, several other states are also currently considering legislation to prohibit the use of restricted Chinese technology.
Rep. Momtahan is right to quickly move the focus to implementing SB 346 with this letter which calls for the Department to “undertake a thorough review, asking all vendors to certify that they are not owned/operated by the People’s Republic of China.” Implementing and enforcing this law is key to preventing China’s strategy of targeting Georgia’s sensitive information.
China Tech Threat applauds Georgia’s leadership that is helping drive momentum in other states as well.