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Administration officials told industry and civil society that the order aims to prevent data brokers and other companies from selling access to large repositories of geolocation, genomics and other sensitive personal information to buyers in “relevant countries” such as China, Russia and Iran. . Social expert. Bloomberg first reported the impending order.
For years, federal officials have expressed concern about the risk that information purchased legally from data brokers or stolen by hackers working for foreign governments could be used to spy on or extort high-value U.S. targets, such as lawmakers and military personnel. . For example, according to a 2021 report by the Washington Post, China has been tapping Western social media such as Facebook and X to provide its security agencies with information about foreign targets.
Recent advances in artificial intelligence have also raised concerns that the data could be analyzed in more powerful ways, enabling profiling and espionage, including by activists, journalists and politicians. Meanwhile, China’s new laws restrict foreigners’ access to materials once available to academics, researchers and Western companies.
China’s theft of data on tens of millions of Americans through hacking attacks or acquisitions of companies has long worried U.S. officials. The massive Chinese cyber breaches of federal personnel records discovered in 2014 and a Marriott hotel database a few years later combined with existing intelligence and business information to raise concerns that Beijing – in part , MOSCOW — A capability is being built to track individuals, including undercover CIA officers.
A former senior U.S. official said the violations had “serious adverse consequences.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Now that vast troves of personal genomic, geolocation, health and financial data are commercially available, officials worry that foreign adversaries could buy them in bulk from brokers without users’ knowledge or consent. For example, there is no law that prevents genomics companies from contracting with Chinese companies to sequence their genetic samples.
“The accumulation of Americans’ data creates real security risks,” said James A. Lewis, a technology policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “We may not know exactly what the risks are, but with the election approaching and the dangers of Chinese influence operations, this is a good defensive move.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Biden during a meeting between the two in November that China would not interfere in the 2024 presidential election, CNN reported in January.
At the same time, some analysts said the order could be difficult to implement and enforce, requiring governments to find a way to track the flow of commercial data around the world.
“In the face of persistent and sophisticated foreign adversaries, will this effectively prevent them from accessing this data?” asked Nigel Corey, deputy director of trade policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “It’s hard to see at this stage whether what the government is doing is targeted enough and effective enough to do that.”
Other analysts worry that the Biden administration intends to create a narrow and targeted regime that could encourage future presidents or other administrations to more actively exert influence over the world’s most powerful communications medium.
“My impression is that the administration doesn’t want to segment the web,” said Sam Sachs, senior fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School, adding that the categories of data in the current executive order appear to be limited. “But as we play whack-a-mole with new ways of collecting data, those ranges are likely to expand,” she said.
Administration officials declined to comment because the order has not yet been issued. But they said in the brief that the move was necessary in the absence of a national data privacy law that would regulate the collection and sale of Americans’ sensitive information. They point out that the order simply kicks off a rulemaking process through which industry and civil society can make suggestions and criticisms.
Another reason that prompted the order was concerns about the government’s limited ability to respond to the threat of foreign material misuse. The most important avenue today is an interagency group known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has the authority to review and block individual foreign business transactions on national security grounds. The committee said a comprehensive policy is needed to guide decision-making in areas of businesses involving the collection of sensitive personal data. The Justice Department, which reviews certain telecommunications-related licenses for national security risks, has similar concerns.
The order does not extend to any “expressive” activity, such as social media posts, messages or videos posted by Americans on platforms such as TikTok. TikTok, a popular video app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has sparked heated debate in Washington over national security and free speech.
The order does not target any one company, such as TikTok. However, experts say that if an app collects information in bulk that is considered sensitive because it can help identify a person and their habits, such as geolocation data, then that information cannot be sent to any relevant country.
For each category of restricted data, the government will specify quantities that are prohibited from being transferred, such as a certain number of genomic data for U.S. individuals and a certain number of devices that collect geolocation data.
The most sensitive data includes people’s DNA and biometric data, as well as computer keyboard usage patterns. For example, the intention is not to prevent an American from sending DNA to the genomics company 23andMe to see if she has distant relatives in China, although the company would be prohibited from selling data in bulk to China or working with Chinese processing companies, they said.
U.S. officials noted that BGI Group, a Chinese company with subsidiaries in the United States, operates China’s National Gene Bank, a vast government-owned repository that currently contains millions of people from around the world. genetic data. Intelligence officials have said they believe Chinese companies are trying to obtain DNA from Americans.
“Genomic data will provide a blueprint for future biotech products and the ability to grow the economy, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it could also be weaponized to create engineered pathogens or misused to identify and target individuals,” said the committee’s vice chair. Michelle Rozo says. Congressionally mandated National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnologies. “Genomic data is a strategic resource, and the United States needs to treat it as such.”
The order will cover large amounts of data exchanged as part of a corporate investment, acquisition or contract, but there may be exceptions if the data exchange meets certain cybersecurity and privacy requirements. The order would exempt ordinary financial activities of multinational corporations or federal contractors, such as companies or government agencies that process employee payroll data from the countries involved.
Some Commerce Department officials expressed concern that the plan could disrupt trade or economic activity, including imposing complex new requirements on companies doing international business, some experts said. Government officials said the order was narrow in scope to minimize its negative impact.
Experts say enforcement will be challenged by determined adversaries seeking to purchase data through third parties in countries outside the United States. “What about using a proxy?” Corey said. “How do you expect companies to conduct due diligence to determine who is the ultimate owner of an entity? How do they handle so many different transactions involving the types of data that they are concerned about?”
Whatever rule is ultimately adopted, he said, it is important that it is flexible enough to adapt to the future. “This is uncharted territory,” Corey said.
Kate Brown contributed to this report.
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