President Joe Biden on Wednesday will announce an executive order to protect sensitive personal data from falling into the hands of China, Russia and other “countries of concern.”
The order, which will require the Justice Department to draw up rules aimed at cracking down on the transfer of personal and government-related data, arrives as technological advancements stoke anxieties that the federal government isn’t doing enough on privacy.
Although the U.S. prohibits illicit back-channel activity like computer hacking, an administration official said on a call with reporters that current laws do not bar countries from buying data through brokers, allowing them to amass volumes of U.S. personal information.
