On August 8, 2025, Florida Senator Rick Scott took to the podium once again, unveiling his latest legislative effort in a year marked by an unrelenting focus on countering Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence in the United States. The Preventing Remote Operations by Threatening Entities on Critical Technology for the Grid (PROTECT the Grid) Act, Scott’s seventh bill in just twelve months targeting the CCP, aims to shine a light on—and ultimately block—the growing role of Chinese-made smart devices in America’s homes and electric grid.
Scott, a Republican, made his concerns crystal clear at a press conference announcing the bill. He warned, “These seemingly benign internet-connected appliances, such as smart ovens, EV chargers, and laundry appliances, can come with embedded software controlled by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) affiliated companies – giving Communist China a potential avenue to infiltrate and disrupt America’s electric grid.” According to Scott, the threat isn’t just theoretical. He believes these devices could one day be used to “flip a digital switch and plunge parts of America into chaos.”
The bill directs the Department of Commerce to investigate and assess the extent to which CCP influence has penetrated American infrastructure through high-wattage smart devices. These are not the simple gadgets of yesteryear, but powerful appliances—smart ovens, electric vehicle chargers, laundry machines, water heaters, and air conditioners—that can each consume or control more than 500 watts of power. The concern is that, if manipulated en masse, these devices could destabilize the grid, potentially causing blackouts or even damaging critical infrastructure.
The legislation specifically calls on the Department of Commerce, working alongside other federal agencies, to submit a comprehensive report to Congress within 270 days. This report must detail the risks posed by these high-wattage Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and associated software applications, especially those developed by companies under the jurisdiction or influence of foreign adversaries like the CCP. The bill’s language is clear: any technology or application that could be “used to manipulate power demand on a large scale” is a potential threat to national security.
Backing up these concerns, the bill cites research from Princeton University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. These academic heavyweights have warned of so-called “MaDIoT” attacks—mass demand manipulation attacks using IoT devices. In such a scenario, a foreign adversary could coordinate thousands, or even millions, of devices to suddenly spike or drop their power usage, overwhelming the grid and potentially triggering widespread outages. It’s a chilling thought: could your smart oven or laundry machine really be a Trojan horse for a blackout?
Scott’s legislative push doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The PROTECT the Grid Act works in tandem with Executive Order 13873, signed by President Donald Trump in 2019, which empowers the Secretary of Commerce to restrict or ban the use of technology or services from foreign companies deemed a threat to national security. By codifying these executive powers into law, Scott’s bill seeks to make these protections permanent, regardless of who occupies the White House in the future.
“We cannot forget the existential threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses to our national security and American citizens,” Scott emphasized. “The CCP uses every tool at its disposal to infiltrate our markets, our government, and our families’ everyday lives through smart products designed with a built-in backdoor for China to spy on them and access our power grids.”
Jon Toomey, president of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, offered a strong endorsement of the bill. “The Department of Commerce must act to block entities that threaten our national security and economic interests. We thank Senator Scott for introducing legislation to make permanent the protections in Executive Order 13873, signed by President Trump in 2019. This bill is a critical step toward ensuring Americans know who controls the technology in their homes—and who may be accessing their data,” Toomey stated. He later added, “The legislation is a critical step toward ensuring Americans know who controls the technology in their homes — and who may be accessing their data.”
Scott’s latest measure is hardly his first foray into this arena. Over the past year, he has introduced six other bills targeting CCP influence, ranging from efforts to expose the hidden wealth of senior Chinese officials to proposals that would prohibit Chinese companies from accessing U.S. tax credits. Each of these bills, including the PROTECT the Grid Act, reflects a broader legislative trend in Washington: a growing bipartisan consensus that China’s technological reach poses a real and present danger to American security and sovereignty.
But what exactly makes these smart devices so risky? The answer lies in their connectivity and power. Internet-connected appliances are increasingly embedded in the daily lives of Americans, controlling everything from when the laundry starts to how an electric vehicle charges overnight. If a foreign adversary were able to remotely manipulate these devices at scale, the consequences could be severe. According to the research cited in the bill, coordinated manipulation could trigger blackouts or even cause lasting damage to the grid’s infrastructure.
The bill’s supporters argue that these risks are not just theoretical. As smart devices become more prevalent, the attack surface grows. “The risk this access poses cannot be understated – it means Communist China could flip a digital switch and plunge parts of America into chaos,” Scott warned. His bill seeks to get ahead of the threat, rather than waiting for a crisis to force action.
There’s also a strong undercurrent of transparency and consumer protection in the legislation. By directing the Department of Commerce to investigate and publicly report on these risks, Scott and his allies hope to give Americans a clearer picture of who is really behind the technology in their homes. As Toomey put it, “This bill is a critical step toward ensuring Americans know who controls the technology in their homes—and who may be accessing their data.”
The PROTECT the Grid Act fits into a much larger debate about the future of the U.S.-China relationship, especially when it comes to technology and infrastructure. While some critics worry that measures like Scott’s could stifle innovation or lead to unnecessary restrictions, supporters argue that the stakes are simply too high to ignore. With the electric grid serving as the backbone of modern life, few want to take chances with its security.
As the Department of Commerce prepares to take up the task assigned by Scott’s bill—should it become law—Americans may soon learn more about just how vulnerable their homes and communities are to foreign interference. In the meantime, the debate over smart devices, national security, and the reach of the Chinese Communist Party shows no sign of cooling down.
With the introduction of the PROTECT the Grid Act, Senator Scott has once again placed the spotlight squarely on the intersection of technology, security, and foreign influence—reminding Americans that even the most ordinary household appliances could be at the center of a global power struggle.
