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Investing.com - Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has reiterated its messaging that its chips do not contain hidden backdoors or remote kill switches, while rejecting U.S. calls to include in-built remote controls in its products.
The company said in a blog post released on Tuesday that its graphical processing units “do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.”
"That’s not how trustworthy systems are built — and never will be," Nvidia wrote.
Nvidia said that embedding backdoors and kill switches in its chips would be a “gift to hackers and hostile actors,” while also undermining global tech infrastructure and denting trust in U.S. technology.
The company referenced recent proposals from U.S. lawmakers and pundits that the company begin installing backdoor access to prevent misuse of its chips. Lawmakers had also suggested that Nvidia and its peers include location verification tech with their chips to prevent them from being diverted to sanctioned countries.
Calls for such a move had intensified when Washington placed strict restrictions on the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China earlier this year, during the height of the U.S.-China trade war. But no legislation was signed to enforce the alteration of Nvidia’s chips.
A host of reports showed Chinese developers were still acquiring Nvidia’s chips despite U.S. sanctions, drawing ire from government officials.
Nvidia has repeatedly dismissed calls for controls and location tracking, stating that such a move would undermine its products. The company was summoned by Chinese officials last week to express concerns over U.S. proposals for chip controls and location tracking.
The company recently signaled that it will resume sales of its popular H20 chip in China, following a deescalation in a bitter U.S.-China trade war.
(Ambar Warrick contributed reporting.)