A dozen US senators unveiled a bipartisan bill to protect Americans’ data privacy from being used by U.S. adversaries. The proposed law takes a wide-ranging approach to fears that companies with ties to China could be pressured by that country’s government into handing over Americans’ sensitive personal information or communications records. In the case of TikTok, lawmakers have said China’s national security laws could force TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to provide access to TikTok’s US user data.
The proposed legislation entails several key provisions. It calls for the Commerce Department to identify categories of personal data that could potentially harm U.S. national security. Additionally, it mandates the creation of a list of high-risk countries to which the export of sensitive data would be blocked.
“The bill would turn off the tap of data to unfriendly nations, stop TikTok from sending Americans’ personal information to China, and allow nations with strong privacy protections to strengthen their relationships,” said Ron Wyden, Senate Finance Committee Chairman.
The bill specifically urges the Secretary of Commerce to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate” national security risks associated with technology linked to those countries. It enables the Commerce Secretary to negotiate, enter into, impose, and enforce “any mitigation measure” in response.
