The White House is looking to cut off foreign adversaries from the flow of Americans' personal data.
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced an executive order to protect Americans from foreign actors exploiting their personal data. The executive order "authorizes the Attorney General to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to countries of concern. The countries of concern are China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela.
The executive order is specifically targeting data brokerage, a practice that is shockingly unregulated. There is no federal law that oversees the collection of and sale of the most intimate details of our lives. And when data is sold to countries of concern, it can become a national security issue.
SEE ALSO:10 AI regulation mandates that'll shake up the industry"The sale of Americans’ data raises significant privacy, counterintelligence, blackmail risks and other national security risks—especially for those in the military or national security community," said the press briefing, before adding groups like academics, activists, journalists, political figures, etc. are potential targets with access to their personal information.
Through the Department of Justice, the executive order will prohibit data transactions of specific data to countries of concern. So, selling data to data brokers knowing it will end up in those countries or to companies based in those countries, according to a senior DOJ official. The types of data prohibited include genomic, biometric, geolocations, personal health, personal finance, personal identifiable information, and sensitive government data.
The executive order will also limit, but not prohibit, data transactions for commercial purposes including investment, vendor, and employment information.
If you're thinking about a certain social media company that's been accused of giving its user data to China, the executive order may not have such a big impact on TikTok. According to its privacy policy, it does not buy data from third party brokers. It does say it may use data "shared" with the company by advertisers and other partners, although how its shared remains unclear. But TikTok has its own ways of gathering data about you without third parties anyway.
While the executive order was announced today, there are several steps before it goes into action. There will be two rounds of gathering input from stakeholders, including tech companies and privacy advocates before the proposed rule is finalized. Now, if the White House will only address data brokers within the U.S.
TopicsPrivacyGovernment
(责任编辑:熱點)
Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape
Facebook rolls out another method to make you watch Live videos
Tech can help us spot fake news, but there's only one real way to stop it
This is (probably) your last chance to get an NES Classic before the holidays
Carlos Beltran made a very interesting hair choice
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill break up and now the queen has more time to conquer
Evernote reverses controversial privacy policy but damage is already done
Woman gets horny guy to kiss a tractor for a chance at nude pictures
The U.S. will no longer have the final say on internet domain names
From Kimye vs. Taylor to Kimye vs. Bette Midler: The best celebrity feuds of 2016
Make money or go to Stanford? Katie Ledecky is left with an unfair choice.
10 tips for new writers from a self