Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has created a specialized task force focused on scrutinizing companies’ data collection practices and their potential connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Speaking at a press conference on Feb. 5, Uthmeier announced that the existing resources within the attorney general’s office would be repurposed to establish this new division.

“We’ve had so much work as we’ve been investigating companies that we believe are sharing personal data and information with China, with the CCP, and even with the Chinese military,” Uthmeier said at the briefing in West Palm Beach. “This work has reached a level where we realize we need to have people dedicated to it full-time.”

Named the Consumer Harm from International Nefarious Actors Prevention Unit—or CHINA Prevention Unit—the specialized unit will review companies across all sectors that state officials believe are disclosing sensitive information to the CCP.

The health technology industry, where companies could access patients’ most confidential data, is identified as the primary focus.

“We'll be sending some letters, some love letters, to a large number of health tech companies today that we believe have issues,” Uthmeier said. “We’re asking them to provide information [and] show how they’re complying with Florida’s data privacy and consumer protection laws.”

Florida has already initiated investigations into medical companies, including Contec, a Chinese medical instruments maker, which was subpoenaed in June amid concerns that patient monitoring data could be routed through Chinese servers.

As part of its consumer protection efforts, Uthmeier’s office also issued subpoenas to companies in other industries over the past six months. Among the targets are China-founded router maker TP-Link, and Lorex, which produces video doorbells and baby monitors, among other security cameras.

“Floridians have to be put on notice,” Uthmeier said. “There has to be transparency that if there is some sort of ownership deal or a handling or transmission of data overseas that could get into the wrong hands, people need to know that, so that they can make their choices when they go to purchase things at the shelves.”

Kelley Currie, a retired U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues with decades of experience in U.S. foreign policy, praised the launch of the specialized unit as a positive step toward preparing for and deterring threats.

“Today’s announcement is the first in the country of its kind where you have a dedicated unit to protect Floridians and the people who reside, work, and do business in the state from this threat,” Currie said at the press conference.

Currie expressed hope that Florida’s legal counterattack unit could inspire similar initiatives in other states.

“The Chinese Communist Party has found ways to instrumentalize and weaponize criminal activity and use it to undermine our societym” said Currie, who is part of the advisory board of research group State Armor.

“So the steps that the Attorney General’s office is taking today are absolutely essential, and we look forward to seeing this as a model for other states around the country to pick up and run with.”

In an X post later on Feb. 5, Uthmeier shared a letter addressed to Mindray North America, a hospital device supplier, demanding an internal audit and disclosure of any connections the China-based company may have with the CCP.

In the letter, Uthmeier highlighted concerns regarding China’s laws, particularly the 2017 National Intelligence Law, which requires all China-based entities to support, assist, and cooperate with the regime’s intelligence service.

He argued that such a requirement creates “a permanent backdoor” that could allow a foreign adversary to access sensitive information from any entity linked to China.

“Whether through medical technology, telecommunications, or digital platforms, the risk of data exfiltration is a direct threat to our sovereignty,” the letter reads. “Florida will not allow its residents to be monitored or manipulated by hostile actors under the guise of routine business operations.”

The Epoch Times contacted Mindray for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time.