U.S. Introduces New Rules to Protect Data from China, Others

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday introduced new rules aimed at safeguarding federal government data and large quantities of personal data from countries like China, Iran, and Russia, by restricting specific business transactions.

This move follows President Joe Biden’s executive order issued earlier this year to prevent foreign adversaries from using American financial, genomic, and health data for cyber-attacks, espionage, or blackmail. The regulations would also apply to Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea.

The proposal expands on efforts to block the flow of U.S. personal data to China, part of a broader trade and technology dispute. For instance, in 2018, the U.S. government blocked China’s Ant Financial from acquiring MoneyGram International over data security concerns.

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The new rules prohibit transactions with data brokers who knowingly transfer data to “countries of concern” and ban the transfer of government personnel data.

Additionally, they define specific thresholds for data transfers, including genomic data on more than 100 people, health or financial data on over 10,000 individuals, and precise geolocation data from over 1,000 U.S. devices.

The Justice Department will enforce the rules with civil and criminal penalties, and officials noted that apps like TikTok could be affected if they transfer sensitive U.S. user data to their Chinese parent company.