House passes bill that would ban data brokers from selling Americans’ personal information to “adversary” nations

The House of Representatives measure targeting the ability of data brokers to sell Americans’ personal data to “adversary” countries such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. The Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act passed by a unanimous vote of 414 to 0.

The , which was introduced alongside a measure that could ban or sell TikTok, would prohibit data brokers from selling “sensitive” data of Americans to people or organizations in “adversary” countries. Like a recent bill by President Joe Biden targeting data brokers, the bill specifically covers geolocation, financial, health and biometric data, as well as other personal information such as text logs and phone call history.

If passed — the bill would need Senate approval before landing on Biden’s desk — it would represent a significant check on the relatively unregulated data broker industry. U.S. officials have previously warned that China and other geopolitical rivals of the United States have already acquired vast amounts of information about Americans from brokers, and privacy advocates have long urged lawmakers to regulate the billion-dollar industry.

The bill is the second major bipartisan piece of legislation coming out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this month. The committee earlier introduced the “Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Enemies Act” that would require TikTok to divest from parent company ByteDance or face a US ban. in , Reps. Frank Pallone and Cathy McMorris Rogers said the latest bill “builds on” their work to pass the measure targeting TikTok. “Today’s overwhelming vote sends a clear message that we will not allow our adversaries to undermine America’s national security and privacy by purchasing people’s personal sensitive information from data brokers,” they said.