- On Wednesday, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order that will prohibit the widespread transmission of personal information about Americans to rivals of the United States, such as China, Iran, and Russia.
- The Department of Justice (DOJ) is mandated by the order to provide safeguards for financial data, biometric data, financial information, personal health information, geolocation data, and genetic information pertaining to government personnel.
- In order to intimidate opponents, quell dissent, and restrict Americans’ freedom of speech, the order accuses these nations of exploiting U.S. data to gather information on activists, academics, journalists, dissidents, political personalities, and marginalized populations.
- The DOJ is thinking of outlawing genetic data exchanges and data brokerage with nations of concern, along with imposing certain limitations on vendor, employment, and investment agreements.
- According to the DOJ source, adversaries will find it much more difficult to access this data in the large volume and comprehensiveness that is most critical for the risks they are attempting to mitigate because of the protections in place.
- Large volumes of data about Americans are being gathered by businesses, which then frequently sell and resell the information, which occasionally “lands in the hands of foreign intelligence services, militaries, or companies controlled by foreign governments.”
Source:
The Hill
