Visitors in Cyber-security Science and Technology Museum of China, Zhengzhou, Henan province. (PHOTO: VCG)

By TANG Zhexiao

The White House briefing room published a fact sheet on February 28, announcing that the U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order to "protect Americans’ sensitive personal data from exploitation by countries of concern."

According to the fact sheet, the executive order will direct the Department of Justice to develop regulations prohibiting data brokers from carrying out transfers of troves of sensitive personal information  to so-called "countries of concern," including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

The sensitive information includes genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data and other kinds of personally identifiable information.

The U.S government said the sale of Americans's data "raises significant privacy, counterintelligence, blackmail risks and other national security risks."

Biden’s order indicated a trend, in which countries are increasingly trying to control data for their protection and economic benefit, according to The New York Times, adding that the executive order is also "the latest escalation of a digital cold war between Washington and Beijing."

CNBC also reported in a statement, comments by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland that adversaries are exploiting Americans’ sensitive personal data to threaten their national security and purchasing this data to blackmail and surveil individuals.

Actually, the concept of national security is being overstretched by the U.S., and these practices are discriminatory, clearly targeting at certain countries.

The Chinese government takes data privacy and security very seriously, said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, "We have never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence located abroad against their local laws for the Chinese government."

On April 21, 2022, China proposed the Global Security Initiative, which has been widely welcomed and warmly received by the international community. It is an inspiring example shows China is effectively safeguarding a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment, and work with others to formulate universal data security rules to enable orderly and free data flows around the world.

If the U.S. truly cares about data security, it can publicly endorse this initiative or make similar commitments, said Mao.

The U.S. withdrawal its cross-border data flow proposal on the WTO negotiating table maybe a preperation for its executive order on cross-border data flow，Zhou Nianli, professor of China Institute for WTO Studies and member of National Working Group on Digital Trade, told news portal Yicai in an interview.

We [China] often emphasize that data security is the bottomline. To avoid information immobility, development needs should be considered while ensuring security, Zhou explained, adding that non-development also leads to insecurity.