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The mass sale of data to countries the US deems a concern will be banned thanks to a new executive order introduced by the US federal government.
US President Joe Biden signed the executive order, which states that bulk data belonging to US citizens can no longer be sold to “countries of concern”, including Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and more.
“The continuing effort of certain countries of concern to access Americans’ sensitive personal data and United States government-related data constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” wrote Biden in a White House release.
“Access to Americans’ bulk sensitive personal data or United States government-related data increases the ability of countries of concern to engage in a wide range of malicious activities.”
The US president added that thanks to developing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), threat actors from countries of concern were able to “analyse and manipulate” mass amounts of data, allowing them to more easily engage in threat activity such as influencing democratic process, espionage, cyber attacks, and more. In turn, this data could be used to fuel the development of AI tools.
According to Biden’s release, the executive order was issued to address a wider national emergency, which was declared in Executive Order 13873 back in 2019.
As part of this, countries of concern will no longer have access to the bulk sensitive personal information of Americans or government-related data, and the “acquisition, holding use, transfer, transportation or exportation of, or dealing in, any property in which a foreign country or national thereof has any interest” is prohibited, or otherwise restricted, based on regulations laid out by the government.
“Our adversaries are exploiting Americans’ sensitive personal data to threaten our national security. They are purchasing this data to use to blackmail and surveil individuals, target those they view as dissidents here in the United States, and engage in other malicious activities,” said US Attorney-General Merrick B. Garland in a Department of Justice release.
“This executive order gives the Justice Department the authority to block countries that pose a threat to our national security from harvesting Americans’ most sensitive personal data – including human genomic data, biometric and personal identifiers, and personal health and financial data.”
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