China Asks Nvidia to Explain Possible 'Security Risks' of Exported H20 Chips
China's Cyberspace Administration is probing U.S. semiconductor firm Nvidia after raising concerns that the company's chips may be equipped with features to track the location or potentially shut down H20 chips sold in China, the agency said July 31, according to an unofficial translation.
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Beijing noted that U.S. lawmakers have called for exported American advanced chips to be equipped with location-tracking features -- an apparent reference to the bipartisan Chip Security Act (see 2507080001 and 2507170040) -- and added that U.S. AI experts "revealed that Nvidia's computing chips have mature tracking and location and remote shutdown technologies." The Cyberspace Administration said it has "summoned" Nvidia to answer questions about it.
"To safeguard the network and data security of Chinese users, and in accordance with the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law, the Cyberspace Administration of China summoned Nvidia on July 31, 2025, requesting that the company explain the backdoor security risks associated with its H20 computing chips sold to China and submit relevant supporting documentation," China said.
An Nvidia spokesperson said in a July 31 emailed statement that "cybersecurity is critically important to us. Nvidia does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them."