October
2024
The U.S. Justice Department has introduced a proposed rule to limit foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, from accessing sensitive U.S. data, following an executive order by President Joe Biden. These new restrictions aim to protect federal and Americans' bulk personal data—such as financial, health, and genomic information—from potential misuse in cyberattacks, espionage, and blackmail. The proposal bans business transactions involving data brokers who knowingly transfer information to nations deemed a “country of concern.”
Transactions covered include the sharing of human genomic data from groups larger than 100 people or the distribution of financial/health data of groups numbering more than 10,000 individuals. Additionally, transferring the precise geolocation data of more than 1,000 U.S. devices will be prohibited. The Justice Department plans to enforce these rules with both civil and criminal penalties.
Chinese apps, such as TikTok, could be affected if they transfer sensitive data to Chinese-based parent companies. The rule builds on a broader U.S. strategy to prevent American data from reaching China, following past actions such as blocking China’s Ant Financial from acquiring MoneyGram due to national security concerns.
Summary
The U.S.’s new rules to stop countries like China from accessing Americans' personal data reflect growing tension in U.S.-China relations, as these new rules target Chinese tech companies and show a growing U.S. concern surrounding China’s expanding influence over data collection globally. Spurred on by past data access incidents –for example, in 2015, when the CCP allegedly collected data for surveillance and influence– these rules aim to shore up what U.S. policymakers see as a significant vulnerability.
The U.S.’s new data-sharing restrictions could be interpreted as part of a larger plan to protect American data in regions with close ties to Beijing, especially in light of concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might access U.S. data through Hong Kong, where rules around digital surveillance have become stricter and are now closer to mainland China’s policies.
Analysis
