US Implements New Restrictions on Data Transfers to Adversarial Nations

• Nations designated by the U.S. as foreign adversaries will no longer have access to federal and bulk personal data.
• The new rules apply to the transfer of sensitive data, such as personal health details, financial data, and human genomic information.
• China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea are among the countries targeted by these regulations.

The U.S. Justice Department has announced a proposed set of rules designed to block access to federal and bulk personal data by nations designated as foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran. This move aims to strengthen national security by curbing potential cyber threats such as espionage and blackmail, Reuters recently reported.

The new rules specifically target the transfer of sensitive data, including human genomic information on more than 100 individuals and personal health or financial details of over 10,000 people. Additionally, it bars the transfer of precise geolocation data from over 1,000 U.S. devices.

Alongside China, Russia, and Iran, the regulations extend to Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea. This step reflects Washington’s ongoing efforts to limit the flow of American data to these nations amidst broader trade and technology tensions.

The regulations will prohibit transactions with data brokers who knowingly transfer U.S. data to the aforementioned nations. The move is part of a broader strategy to mitigate risks associated with foreign access to American data, especially after past incidents such as the blocked acquisition of MoneyGram by China's Ant Financial in 2018.

The Justice Department will have the authority to enforce compliance through both criminal and civil penalties, ensuring adherence to these new standards. 

This regulatory shift could impact numerous sectors, particularly those dealing with large-scale data management and international transactions. 

Companies will need to reassess their data handling practices to ensure compliance, especially those with ties to Chinese apps like TikTok, which may risk breaching these new regulations if they transfer sensitive data to parent companies abroad.

One of the campaigns orchestrated by China against the U.S. leveraged a network of at least 5,000 fake X accounts (formerly Twitter) operated by artificial intelligence (AI) using a Chinese-language Large Language Model (LLM) system as part of a disinformation campaign.