Tech Diplomacy Now: White House Announces Protections for Personal Data
The Biden Administration announces two actions to start protecting the personal data of Americans from misuse.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Top News of the Week
The Briefing
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
Top News of the Week – White House Announces Protections for Personal Data
Last week the Biden Administration announced two actions to start protecting the personal data of Americans from misuse by the People’s Republic of China. The first was an Executive Order restricting the sale or transfer of Americans’ sensitive data to countries like the People’s Republic of China, Russia, or North Korea. The second was the announcement of a Commerce Department investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and the threat that they pose to collecting data on Americans.
Key Takeaways:
In terms of personal data protection, this EO seeks to fill the gap left by no federal legislation on data privacy outside of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) which established protections around individually identifiable health information.
It isn’t clear whether this EO, or the regulations to be developed by the Justice Department, can prevent the transfer of Americans’ data once it has left the country. Data is notoriously hard to control and without legislation the extraterritorial reach of an EO is questionable.
The investigation into the threat of Chinese EVs is clearly meant to create a method to block the importation of these EVs, whether made in the PRC or a third country. The investigation will likely focus on sensors and software, rather than the batteries and other physical components of the vehicles.
In October 2023, the European Commission launched an investigation into the subsidies that the PRC provides to its EV sector and there are rumors that Brussels is considering a similar data protection investigation, though one might suppose that GDPR already provides Brussels with sufficient authority to take action.
The authority to take these actions likely rests on the Trump Administration Executive Order, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.”
More Background:
New Executive Order Seeks to Protect Americans' Sensitive Personal Data – White & Case, March 4, 2024
VIDEO - Sec. Raimondo: Chinese-made smart cars may be ‘collecting data every minute’ on ‘millions’ in US – MSNBC, March 1, 2024
FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Address Risks of Autos from China and Other Countries of Concern – White House, February 29, 2024
FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order to Protect Americans’ Sensitive Personal Data – White House, February 28, 2024
Commission launches investigation on subsidised electric cars from China – European Commission, October 4, 2023
Executive Order 13873, Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain – White House, May 15, 2019
The Briefing
There have been two important data-related actions in recent days that highlight how we all play a role in ensuring technology advances freedom.
Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue's Michelle Giuda delves into President Biden's Executive Order preventing the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to countries of concern and bipartisan legislation to protect Americans from foreign adversary controlled applications, like TikTok.
Latest News
Gallagher, Bipartisan Coalition Introduce Legislation to Protect Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications, Including TikTok - The Select Committee on the CCP, March 5, 2024
Russia’s Backdoor for Battlefield Goods from China: Central Asia – WSJ, March 4, 2024
The ‘Military Schengen’ Era Is Here – Foreign Policy, March 4, 2024
China Revised the State Secrets Law – Wilmer Hale, March 1, 2024
The politics and economics behind Biden's China-car espionage probe – Reuters, March 1, 2024
The dangerous parallels between Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine and Xi’s claims on Taiwan – CNN, February 26, 2024
Technology Strategy and Policy
U.S. Defeat in Micron Trade-Secrets Case Reveals Struggle Countering Beijing – WSJ, March 3, 2024
AUKUS weighs Japan's participation in defense tech development – Nikkei Asia, March 2, 2024
Patent applications from Chinese inventors pass U.S. for first time – Axios, March 1, 2024
AI Warfare Is Already Here – Bloomberg, February 28, 2024
The India–US Defence Technology and Industrial Cooperation: It’s time for delivery – ORF, February 26, 2024
Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic claims its new AI chatbot models beat OpenAI’s GPT-4 – TechCrunch, March 4, 2024
The EU’s AI Act Creates Regulatory Complexity for Open-Source AI – ITIF, March 4, 2024
China offers AI computing ‘vouchers’ to its underpowered start-ups – FT, March 3, 2024
Why Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit Leans on A.I. Research from Microsoft – NYTs, March 2, 2024
Qualcomm and MediaTek race to put generative AI on devices – Nikkei Asia, March 1, 2024
Here Come the AI Worms – Wired, March 1, 2024
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
India-Australia collaboration on digital public infrastructure in the Pacific – Strategist, March 4, 2024
Chinese tech hub Shenzhen to expedite adoption of apps built on Huawei’s HarmonyOS across various industries in 2024 – SCMP, March 4, 2024
Microsoft seals Middle East 5G deal as its telecom push accelerates – Nikkei Asia, March 1, 2024
Sharing Without Daring: Dynamic Spectrum Sharing with Certainty of Access – ITIF, February 26, 2024
Critical Minerals
Gaming out China’s next export controls on critical minerals – Trivium China, February 28, 2024
Washington Wants to Revive a Critical Minerals Mega-Railway Through Africa – Foreign Policy, February 28, 2024
Synthetic Biology
Is Pharma Finally Catching onto SynBio? – SynBioBeta, March 1, 2024
Not Again: Why the United States Can’t Afford to Lose Its Biopharma Industry – ITIF, February 29, 2024
Quantum
Why quantum technology may hold the key to alternative energy – ORF, March 2, 2024
How Scientists Are Using Quantum Squeezing to Push the Limits of Their Sensors – MIT Technology Review, February 29, 2024
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Skynet 2.0: China plans to bring largest surveillance camera network on Earth to the moon to protect lunar assets – SCMP, March 4, 2024
How China’s C919 jet reflects ambitions to skirt US restrictions and soar beyond global leaders – SCMP, March 3, 2024
Space superpower Russia falls down to earth – Nikkei Asia, March 2, 2024
Boeing to pay $51mn US penalty over arms export violations – FT, March 1, 2024
Chinese space, nuclear development is ‘breathtakingly fast,’ DOD officials warn – Defense One, February 29, 2024
A new frontier: Space warfare – ORF, February 27, 2024
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Applied Materials receives multiple subpoenas from U.S government agencies over shipments to China – Tom’s Hardware, February 28, 2024
Assessing India’s Readiness to Assume a Greater Role in Global Semiconductor Value Chains – ITIF, February 14, 2024
Energy and Climate
How China Is Churning Out EVs Faster Than Everyone Else – WSJ, March 3, 2024
Biden Cracks Down on Chinese Electric Vehicles – Foreign Policy, March 1, 2024
Why Hydrogen is Losing the Race to Power Cleaner Cars – MIT Technology Review, February 28, 2024
Apple cancels its autonomous electric car project and is laying off some workers – TechCrunch, February 27, 2024
Opinion and Commentary
Replicate Ordnance, Not Cheap Drones – Sam Tangredi, U.S. Naval Institute, March 1, 2024
Overcapacity – Yanmei Xie and Jude Blanchette, Pekingology Podcast, February 29, 2024
Why Are We Still Reliant on China for Our Biosecurity? – Matthew Turpin, RealClearDefense, February 28, 2024
Poorly designed Chips Act hurts Taiwan, TSMC – Chang-Tai Hsieh, Burn Lin, and Chintay Shih, The Asset, February 27, 2024
Forging a positive vision of economic statecraft – Daleep Singh, Atlantic Council, February 22, 2024
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.