President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to protect Americans’ sensitive personal data from exploitation by countries of concern.
It will authorize the Attorney General to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to countries of concern and provides safeguards around other activities that can give those countries access to sensitive data.
“Buying data through data brokers is currently legal in the United States, and that reflects a gap in our national security. Today, we are taking narrowly crafted steps to close that gap,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference.
As a result of the EO, the Department of Justice will begin a process to put regulations in place to prohibit the sale of data, or put in place a cybersecurity safeguards on the transfer of data.
The Department will issue regulations that establish greater protection of sensitive government-related data, including geolocation information on sensitive government sites and information about military members.
Companies are collecting more of Americans’ data than ever before, and it is often legally sold and resold through data brokers. Commercial data brokers and other companies can sell this data to countries of concern, or entities controlled by those countries.
Copyright © 2024, RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
