Biden administration finalizes rule to block sale of Americans’ bulk data to adversaries
Companies will no longer be able to sell sensitive data about Americans to countries such as Russia, China and Iran under regulations set to take effect in early 2025.
The rule, proposed under an executive order in late February and finalized Friday, is intended to address the “urgent and extraordinary national security threat” created by U.S. adversaries acquiring personal data that can be used for espionage, blackmail, influence campaigns and other malicious activities, the Department of Justice said.
“This powerful new national-security program is designed to ensure that Americans' personal data is no longer permitted to be sold to hostile foreign powers, whether through outright purchase or other means of commercial access,” said Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, in a news release.
The regulations focus on genomic, biometric, health, geolocation and financial data, as well as U.S. governmental data. They’re primarily aimed at data brokers who collect and package information about Americans for sale to anyone who wants to buy it.
The problem is exacerbated, the department said, “because countries of concern are increasingly using bulk sensitive personal data to develop and enhance artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and algorithms that, in turn, enable the use of large datasets in increasingly sophisticated and effective ways.”
Adversaries can exploit the data “to collect information on activists, academics, journalists, dissidents, political opponents, or members of nongovernmental organizations or marginalized communities to intimidate them; curb political opposition; limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or association; or enable other forms of suppression of civil liberties,” the department said.
The rules will take effect 90 days after publication in the Federal Register, as early as Monday.
In addition to Russia, China and Iran, the regulations’ “countries of concern” list also includes North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
Joe Warminsky
is the news editor for Recorded Future News. He has more than 25 years experience as an editor and writer in the Washington, D.C., area. He previously he helped lead CyberScoop for more than five years. Prior to that, he was a digital editor at WAMU 88.5, the NPR affiliate in Washington, and he spent more than a decade editing coverage of Congress for CQ Roll Call.