119-s321

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 321 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 321

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit United States 
persons from advancing artificial intelligence capabilities within the 
 People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 29, 2025

 Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit United States 
persons from advancing artificial intelligence capabilities within the 
 People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Decoupling America's Artificial 
Intelligence Capabilities from China Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Artificial intelligence; generative artificial 
 intelligence.--The terms ``artificial intelligence'' and 
 ``generative artificial intelligence'' have the meanings given 
 those terms in 

section 2741 of title 18, United States Code, as 
 added by 

section 3.

    (2) Artificial intelligence or generative artificial 
 intelligence technology or intellectual property.--The term 
 ``artificial intelligence or generative artificial intelligence 
 technology or intellectual property'' means technology or 
 intellectual property that could be used to contribute to 
 artificial intelligence or generative artificial intelligence 
 capabilities.

    (3) Chinese entity of concern.--The term ``Chinese entity 
 of concern'' has the meaning given the term in 

section 2741 of 
 title 18, United States Code, as added by 

section 4.

    (4) Interest.--The term ``interest'', with respect to an 
 entity, includes an interest in the entity--
        (A) held directly or indirectly through any chain 
 of ownership; or
        (B) held as a derivative financial instrument or 
 other contractual arrangement with the entity, 
 including any financial instrument or other contract 
 that seeks to replicate any financial return with 
 respect to the entity or an interest in the entity.

    (5) Military-civil fusion strategy.--The term ``military-
 civil fusion strategy'' means the strategy of the Chinese 
 Communist Party aiming to mobilize non-military resources and 
 expertise for military application, including the development 
 of technology, improvements in logistics, and other uses by the 
 People's Liberation Army.

    (6) Intellectual property.--The term ``intellectual 
 property'' means--
        (A) any work protected by a copyright under title 
 17, United States Code;
        (B) any property protected by a patent granted by 
 the United States Patent and Trademark Office under 
 title 35, United States Code;
            (C) any word, name, symbol, or device, or any 
 combination thereof, that is registered as a trademark 
 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
 under the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
 registration and protection of trademarks used in 
 commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain 
 international conventions, and for other purposes'', 
 approved July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the ``Lanham 
 Act'' or the ``Trademark Act of 1946'') (15 U.S.C. 1051 
 et seq.); or
            (D) a trade secret (as defined in 

section 1839 of 
 title 18, United States Code).

    (7) Technology.--The term ``technology''--
        (A) has the meaning given that term in 

section 1742 
 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 
 4801); and
        (B) includes--
            (i) any semiconductor, circuit board, 
 operating system, graphics processing unit, 
 central processing unit, tenor processing unit, 
 field-programmable gate array, random access 
 memory, hard drive, solid-state drive, dataflow 
 architecture, or cloud-computing service, that 
 is manufactured, designed, developed, supplied, 
 deployed, completed, assembled, restored, 
 converted, or replicated to function artificial 
 intelligence or generative artificial 
 intelligence; and
            (ii) any other hardware, software, 
 equipment, device, component, robotic, 
 computer, processor, network, machine, 
 accelerator, circuit, storage, system or 
 subsystem, server, or related good, tool, or 
 service, that is manufactured, designed, 
 developed, supplied, deployed, completed, 
 assembled, restored, converted, or replicated 
 to function artificial intelligence or 
 generative artificial intelligence.

    (8) Terms from export control reform act of 2018.--The 
 terms ``export'', ``in-country transfer'', and ``reexport'' 
 have the meanings given those terms in 

section 1742 of the 
 Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801).

    (9) United states person.--The term ``United States 
 person'' has the meaning given the term in 

section 2741 of 
 title 18, United States Code, as added by 

section 4.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS ON IMPORT AND EXPORT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR 
 GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY OR 
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Prohibition on Importation.--On and after the date that is 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the importation into 
the United States of artificial intelligence or generative artificial 
intelligence technology or intellectual property developed or produced 
in the People's Republic of China is prohibited.

    (b) Prohibition on Export.--On and after the date that is 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the export, reexport, or 
in-country transfer of artificial intelligence or generative artificial 
intelligence technology or intellectual property to or within the 
People's Republic of China is prohibited.
            (c) Penalties.--

    (1) Criminal.--A person who willfully commits, willfully 
 attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids 
 and abets in the commission of, the violation of a prohibition 
 under subsection

    (a) or

    (b) shall be subject to the criminal 
 penalties set forth in subsection

    (b) of 

section 1760 of the 
 Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4819) to the same 
 extent as a person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to 
 commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids and abets in 
 the commission of an unlawful act described in subsection

    (a) of that section.

    (2) Civil.--A person who violates a prohibition under 
 subsection

    (a) or

    (b) or any regulation, order, or license 
 issued to carry out any such prohibition shall be subject to a 
 civil penalty set forth in 

section 1760
            (c) of the Export 
 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4819
            (c) ) for each such 
 violation to the same extent as a person who commits a 
 violation described in that section.
            (d) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall issue 
regulations implementing this section.

SEC. 4. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) In General.--Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

 ``CHAPTER 124--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT BENEFITS THE PEOPLE'S 
 REPUBLIC OF CHINA

``

Sec. 2741. Definitions
 ``In this chapter:
 ``

    (1) Artificial intelligence.--The term `artificial 
 intelligence'--
 ``
        (A) has the meaning given the term in 

section 238

    (g) of the John S. McCain National Defense 
 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. note 
 prec. 4061; Public Law 115-232); and
 ``
        (B) includes--
 ``
            (i) an artificial or automated system--
 ``
            (I) that performs tasks under 
 varying and unpredictable circumstances 
 without significant human oversight;
 ``
            (II) that can learn from 
 experience and improve performance when 
 exposed to data sets;
 ``
            (III) developed in computer 
 software, physical hardware, or another 
 context that solves tasks requiring 
 human-like perception, cognition, 
 planning, learning, communication, or 
 physical action;
 ``
            (IV) designed to think or act 
 like a human, including through 
 cognitive architectures or neural 
 networks;
 ``
            (V) that has or is derived from a 
 set of techniques, including machine 
 learning, statistics, or other data 
 processing or artificial intelligence 
 techniques, that is designed to 
 approximate a cognitive task;
 ``
            (VI) designed to act rationally, 
 including through an intelligent 
 software agent or embodied robot that 
 achieves goals using perception, 
 planning, reasoning, learning, 
 communicating, decision-making, and 
 acting; or
 ``
            (VII) that is intended to or 
 capable of interacting with humans, 
 detecting human emotions, determining 
 associations with social categories 
 based on biometric data, or generating 
 or manipulating image, audio, video, or 
 related material; and
 ``
            (ii) any other artificial or automated 
 system, software, or process that uses 
 computation as whole or part of a system to 
 determine outcomes, make or aid decisions, 
 inform policy implementation, collect data or 
 observations, or otherwise interact with humans 
 or communities of humans.
 ``

    (2) Control.--The term `control' has the meaning given 
 the term in 

section 800.208 of title 31, Code of Federal 
 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
 Act).
 ``

    (3) Corporation.--The term `corporation'--
 ``
        (A) means an entity with the business structure 
 of a corporation, a company, a limited liability 
 company, a limited partnership, a business trust, a 
 business association, or another similar entity; and
 ``
        (B) includes any subsidiary or branch of an 
 entity described in subparagraph
        (A) tied to an entity 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) through a series of 
 contracts.
 ``

    (4) Development.--The term `development' means creative 
 and systematic work that draws upon knowledge gained from 
 research and practical experience, which--
 ``
        (A) is directed toward the production of new 
 products or processes or improving existing products or 
 processes; and
 ``
        (B) like research, results in gaining additional 
 knowledge.
 ``

    (5) Entity of concern.--The term `entity of concern' 
 means--
 ``
        (A) an institution of education, including a 
 college and university, organized under the laws of the 
 People's Republic of China;
 ``
        (B) a research institution, research lab, or 
 research and development center organized under the 
 laws of the People's Republic of China;
 ``
            (C) any corporation--
 ``
            (i) that is organized under the laws of 
 the People's Republic of China;
 ``
            (ii) that is headquartered in the 
 People's Republic of China;
 ``
            (iii) that has its principal place of 
 business in the People's Republic of China; or
 ``
            (iv) the equity securities of which are 
 primarily traded on not less than 1 exchange 
 based within the People's Republic of China; 
 and
 ``
            (D) the Government of the People's Republic of 
 China (as defined in 

section 204 of the U.S.-China 
 Relations Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 6903)) and any 
 governmental department, agency, ministry, research 
 institution, research lab, research and development 
 center, or any other entity, subdivision, or affiliate 
 of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese 
 Communist Party, or the People's Liberation Army.
 ``

    (6) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' means a 
 department, an independent establishment, a commission, an 
 administration, an authority, a board or bureau of the United 
 States, a corporation in which the United States has a 
 proprietary interest, or any other agency of the executive 
 branch of the Federal Government.
 ``

    (7) Federal financial assistance.--The term `Federal 
 financial assistance' means a grant, loan, or contribution 
 provided by the Federal Government.
 ``

    (8) Generative artificial intelligence.--The term 
 `generative artificial intelligence' means an artificial 
 intelligence system that is capable of generating novel text, 
 video, images, audio, or other media based on prompts or other 
 forms of data provided by an individual.
 ``

    (9) Peoples's republic of china.--The term `People's 
 Republic of China' includes Hong Kong and Macau.
 ``

    (10) Research.--The term `research'--
 ``
        (A) means a systematic study directed toward 
 fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of a 
 subject studied; and
 ``
        (B) includes activities involving the training of 
 individuals in research techniques if such activities--
 ``
            (i) use the same facilities as other 
 research and development activities; and
 ``
            (ii) are not included in the instruction 
 function.
 ``

    (11) Research and development.--The term `research and 
 development' means a basic or applied research activity and a 
 development activity.
 ``

    (12) State.--The term `State' means each of the several 
 States of the United States.
 ``

    (13) Territory.--The term `territory' means--
 ``
        (A) the District of Columbia;
 ``
        (B) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
 ``
            (C) the United States Virgin Islands;
 ``
            (D) Guam;
 ``
        (E) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
 Islands; and
 ``
        (F) American Samoa.
 ``

    (14) United states person.--The term `United States 
 person'--
 ``
        (A) has the meaning given the term in 

section 1711 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
 Fiscal Year 1993 (22 U.S.C. 6010); and
 ``
        (B) includes--
 ``
            (i) a corporation that is incorporated or 
 organized under Federal law or the laws of a 
 State or territory;
 ``
            (ii) an institution of education, 
 including a college and university, organized 
 under Federal law or the laws of a State or 
 territory;
 ``
            (iii) a research institution organized 
 under Federal law or the laws of a State or 
 territory;
 ``
            (iv) a person that is--
 ``
            (I) a protected individual (as 
 defined in 

section 274B

    (a)

    (3) of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
 U.S.C. 1324b

    (a)

    (3) , wherever located or 
 employed; and
 ``
            (II) an alien who has been 
 admitted to the United States as a 
 lawful permanent resident; and
 ``
            (v) a person or corporation controlled by 
 an individual or entity described in this 
 paragraph.
``

Sec. 2742. Unlawful acts
 ``

    (a) Research and Development.--A United States person may not 
intentionally conduct, attempt or conspire to conduct, or aid and abet 
in conducting research or development of artificial intelligence or 
generative artificial intelligence--
 ``

    (1) within the People's Republic of China;
 ``

    (2) for an entity of concern;
 ``

    (3) on behalf of an entity of concern;
 ``

    (4) in collaboration with an entity of concern;
 ``

    (5) for a national of the People's Republic of China 
 working for or on behalf of an entity of concern;
 ``

    (6) on behalf of a national of the People's Republic of 
 China working for or on behalf of an entity of concern; or
 ``

    (7) in collaboration with a national of the People's 
 Republic of China working for, or on behalf of, an entity of 
 concern.
 ``

    (b) Transfer of Research.--A United States person may not 
intentionally transfer, attempt or conspire to transfer, or aid and 
abet in transferring information relating to research of artificial 
intelligence or generative artificial intelligence--
 ``

    (1) within the People's Republic of China;
 ``

    (2) directly to or from the People's Republic of China;
 ``

    (3) for an entity of concern;
 ``

    (4) on behalf of an entity of concern;
 ``

    (5) directly to or from an entity of concern;
 ``

    (6) for a national of the People's Republic of China 
 working for or on behalf of an entity of concern;
 ``

    (7) on behalf of a national of the People's Republic of 
 China working for or on behalf of an entity of concern; or
 ``

    (8) directly to or from a national of the People's 
 Republic of China working for or on behalf of an entity of 
 concern.
``

Sec. 2743. Penalties
 ``

    (a) Fines; Forfeiture.--
 ``

    (1) Entities.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--A United States person that 
 violates 

section 2742 that is not an individual shall--
 ``
            (i) be fined not more than $100,000,000; 
 and
 ``
            (ii) forfeit any license, contract, 
 subcontract, grant, or public benefit awarded 
 by any Federal agency.
 ``
        (B) Associates of entities.--An officer, 
 director, partner, agent, or employee that violates 
 

section 2742 shall--
 ``
            (i) be fined not more than $1,000,000; 
 and
 ``
            (ii) forfeit any license, contract, 
 subcontract, grant, or public benefit awarded 
 by any Federal agency.
 ``

    (2) Individuals.--A United States person who is an 
 individual that violates 

section 2742 shall--
 ``
        (A) be fined not more than $1,000,000; and
 ``
        (B) forfeit any license, contract, subcontract, 
 grant, or public benefit awarded by any Federal agency.
 ``

    (b) Ineligibility for Federal Financial Assistance.--A United 
States person that violates 

section 2742 shall be ineligible to receive 
Federal financial assistance during the 5-year period beginning on the 
date on which a penalty is imposed under subsection

    (a) .
 ``
            (c) Civil Penalties.--
 ``

    (1) Civil action.--With respect to a United States person 
 that violates 

section 2742, the United States may bring a civil 
 action against the United States person in any district court 
 of the United States in which the United States person resides, 
 is found, or has an agent, without respect to the amount in 
 controversy.
 ``

    (2) Damages.--In a civil suit brought under paragraph

    (1) against a United States person, the United States shall be 
 entitled--
 ``
        (A) to--
 ``
            (i) relief in equity to restrain and 
 prevent a violation or threat of violation of 
 

section 2742; and
 ``
            (ii) other appropriate equitable relief;
 ``
        (B) to relief in damages for--
 ``
            (i) punitive and nominal damages;
 ``
            (ii) three times the amount of damages 
 sustained by the United States as a result of 
 the violation; and
 ``
            (iii) three times the cost of the civil 
 action, including reasonable attorney's fees;
 ``
            (C) to a civil fine of not more than $100,000,000 
 if the United States person is not an individual; and
 ``
            (D) to a civil fine of not more than $1,000,000 
 if the United States person is an individual''.

    (b) Citizenship and Immigration Consequences.--

Section 101

    (a)

    (43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101

    (a)

    (43) ) is 
amended--

    (1) in subparagraph
        (T) , by striking ``; and'' at the end;

    (2) by redesignating subparagraph
        (U) as subparagraph
            (V) ; 
 and

    (3) by inserting after subparagraph
        (T) the following:
 ``
        (U) an offense described in 

section 2742 of title 
 18, United States Code (relating to research and 
 development on behalf of the People's Republic of 
 China); and''.
            (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part I of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

 ``Chapter 124--Research and Development on Behalf of the People's 
 Republic of China

``2741. Definitions.
``2742. Unlawful acts.
``2743. Penalties.''.
            (d) Regulations.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 
Education, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall--

    (1) promulgate regulations to enforce the prohibitions 
 under 

section 2742 of title 18, United States Code, as added by 
 this Act; and

    (2) coordinate with the heads of other Federal agencies to 
 ensure the enforcement of the prohibitions described in 
 paragraph

    (1) .

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES PERSONS HOLDING AN INTEREST IN OR 
 PROVIDING FINANCING TO CHINESE ENTITIES INVOLVED IN 
 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) In General.--On and after the date that is one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, a United States person is prohibited 
from knowingly holding or managing an interest in, or lending money or 
extending credit to, a Chinese entity of concern that--

    (1)
        (A) conducts research or development relating to 
 artificial intelligence or generative artificial intelligence; 
 or
        (B) produces goods, including hardware and software, that 
 incorporate research or development relating to artificial 
 intelligence or generative artificial intelligence; and

    (2)
        (A) assists in the implementation of the military-civil 
 fusion strategy of the People's Republic of China;
        (B) assists in the development of surveillance 
 capabilities; or
            (C) is implicated in human rights abuses.

    (b) Implementation; Penalties.--

    (1) Implementation.--The President may exercise the 
 authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 
 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to the extent necessary to carry out this 
 section.

    (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
 violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
 section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
 out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
 subsections

    (b) and
            (c) of 

section 206 of the International 
 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 
 extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in 
 subsection

    (a) of that section.
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