The US president has signed an executive order banning the bulk sale of Americans’ geolocation, genomic, financial and medical data to “countries of concern”, including Russia and China.
“Our current policies and laws leave vast amounts of Americans’ sensitive personal data open,” a senior Biden administration official said during the briefing. “Purchasing data through brokers is now legal in the US — and it’s a gap in our national security toolbox.”
As Engadget notes, researchers and privacy advocates have long warned of national security risks posed by the largely unregulated, multibillion-dollar industry of data brokers. Last fall, researchers at Duke University reported that they were able to easily acquire a wealth of personal and health data from US military personnel posing as foreign agents.
Biden’s executive order is intended to address such concerns by prohibiting data brokers and other companies from directly or indirectly selling large swathes of Americans’ personal information to countries or organizations in Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. Further restrictions are likely to be imposed on companies’ ability to sell data as part of cloud service contracts, investment agreements and employment agreements.
At the same time, the White House notes that the order will not slow down the mass sale of Americans’ data to other countries or companies that are not considered a threat to national security.
“President Biden is calling on Congress to pass comprehensive, bipartisan privacy legislation that is especially important to protecting the safety of our children,” the White House said in a statement.
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