Reuters reported (January 6, 2020) that the U.S. government imposed new restrictions on exports of American-made Artificial Intelligence software. The new rules, which took effect on January 6, mandated that  U.S. companies will need to apply for a license before exporting AI-powered geospatial imagery software to all countries except Canada. Such software could be used by sensors, drones and satellites to automatically identify targets for both military and civilian purposes.  The new measures are part of a 2018 law that aims to tighten the U.S. government’s grip on national security-related exports in a bid to prevent sensitive technologies from being used by rival powers, including China. The U.S. government has previously imposed other trade restrictions on the sale of AI products, including one in October banning several Chinese AI firms from buying components from U.S. companies because of their roles in alleged rights violations in Xinjiang.