The US Justice Department has announced new rules to protect American data from countries like China, Russia, and Iran. The proposal, following President Biden's executive order, aims to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing sensitive US data, specifying restrictions on genomic, health, and financial data transfers. Enforcement will include penalties, and apps like TikTok could be affected if they transfer data to parent companies in these countries.
The US Justice Department announced new rules on Monday aimed at safeguarding federal government and bulk personal data from countries such as China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea.
These measures implement an executive order by President
Joe Biden to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing American financial, genomic, and health data for malicious purposes.
The rules follow earlier US efforts to prevent data transfer to China, exemplified by the 2018 rejection of
Ant Financial's bid for MoneyGram due to data security concerns.
The proposed rules specify the types of data restricted, including genomic data on over 100 Americans, and health or financial data on over 10,000 people.
The Justice Department could enforce these rules with criminal and civil penalties.
Concerns include potential implications for Chinese apps like TikTok, should they transfer sensitive US user data to a Chinese parent company.