Eyeing China, US House unanimously passes bill prohibiting ‘sensitive data’ transfers to foreign adversaries
- Legislation would block sale of government-issued identifiers, financial account numbers, genetic information and private communications like emails
- Sale of such data poses ‘a unique threat to national security and individual privacy’, says bill’s sponsor Frank Pallone, Democrat of New Jersey
The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would prohibit data brokers from transferring Americans’ “sensitive data” to foreign adversary countries including China.
Sponsored by Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the bill would block the sale of government-issued identifiers, financial account numbers, genetic information, precise geolocation information and private communications like emails.
The committee’s chair, Washington Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, co-sponsored the bill.
01:56
Biden to introduce new restrictions on US investments in China, declares tech ‘emergency’
“The breadth and scope of sensitive personal information aggregated by data brokers makes the sale of that data to our foreign adversaries a unique threat to national security and individual privacy”, Pallone said on Tuesday.