US President Joe Biden last week issued an Executive Order titled \u201cPreventing Access to Americans\u2019 Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern,\u201d which may present new challenges for China-based life science companies operating in the United States. The order is designed to curb the misuse of data by \u2018bad actors\u2019 and \u2018countries of concern,\u2019 focusing on data types such as genomic, biometric, personal health, geolocation, financial, and other personally identifiable information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order mandates several actions to be taken by the Department of Justice (DoJ), Homeland Security, Health and Human Services (HHS), Veterans\u2019 Affairs (VA), and other agencies within 12 months. The DoJ is tasked with creating regulations for the cross-border transfer of large-scale data in the mentioned fields, with an emphasis on preventing access through vendor, investment, and employment relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Departments of Defense, HHS, and VA are to ensure that Federal grants, contracts, and awards do not facilitate access to sensitive health data by countries of concern, including via companies within the United States. The measures are intended not to impede the flow of information vital for financial services or to initiate a broader decoupling of the substantial consumer, economic, scientific, and trade relationships the US shares with other nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n