Biden to issue executive order safeguarding Americans’ personal data

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order aimed at safeguarding the personal data of American citizens from countries of concern, Cyberscoop reports.

Under the order, companies and individuals in the U.S. will be prohibited from selling specific types of sensitive datasets to Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea. The executive order centers on the business of selling people’s personal information, in which companies and so-called data brokers collect and trade data, as well as implementing protections for genomic data, biometric identifiers, geolocation data, and personal health and financial data. The executive order also directs the Department of Justice to issue several regulations during which the public and companies can provide feedback on how they should be structured. "Buying data through data brokers is currently legal in the United States, and that reflects a gap in our national security toolkit that we’re working to fill with this program," according to a senior administration official.