The House of Representatives has introduced a bill targeting the ability of data brokers to sell Americans’ personal data to “adversary” countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The Act to Protect Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries passed unanimously by a vote of 414-0.
Introduced alongside measures that could force a ban or sale of TikTok, the bill would prohibit data brokers from selling Americans’ “sensitive” data to individuals or entities in “hostile” countries. Thing. Similar to President Joe Biden’s recent bill targeting data brokers, this bill specifically targets geolocation, financial, health, and biometric data, as well as other personal information such as text logs and call history. There is.
If passed, the bill would need Senate approval before being sent to Biden’s desk, but it would be a significant curb on the relatively unregulated data broker industry. U.S. officials have previously warned that China and other U.S. geopolitical rivals already have vast amounts of information about Americans from brokers, and privacy advocates have told lawmakers that several He has long advocated for regulating the billion-dollar industry.
The bill is the second major bipartisan bill introduced in the Energy and Commerce House this month. The commission previously filed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Control Applications Act, which would require TikTok to divest from parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the United States. . , Rep. Frank Pallone and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the latest bill “builds” efforts to pass legislation targeting TikTok. “Today’s overwhelming vote sends a clear message that we will not allow our adversaries to undermine America’s national security and individual privacy by purchasing sensitive, personally identifying information about people from data brokers. We will send it to you,” they said.
