WHO’S A NATIONAL SECURITY RISK? THE TRANSATLANTIC GEOPOLITICS OF DATA TRANSFERS - The US government this year has taken two major steps altering its long-held commitment to unrestricted transfers of personal data from the United States. In February, the Biden administration issued an Executive Order aimed at precluding ‘countries of concern’ (China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela) from obtaining commercially available personal data in bulk form that could be used against Americans for intelligence purposes. In April, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, prohibiting data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive data to China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. There is significant overlap between the two measures, to be worked out by the agencies charged with their implementation.

This shift in US international data policy, although principally aimed at China, also raises significant questions for the long-contentious transatlantic data transfer relationship. Will Washington’s new focus on data transfers to authoritarian states have an impact in Europe, where such transfers continue largely unabated? Or will Europe continue to pay more attention to the surveillance activities of its liberal democratic allies, especially the United States? Is there a prospect of Europe and the United States aligning on the national security risks of data transfers to authoritarian countries? What are the challenges posed by the new measures for multinational companies navigating an ever more complex International data transfer environment?

To discuss these questions, senior experts from government, academia, and private industry unpacked the transatlantic implications of the changing US data transfer policy.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 06/26/2024