U.S. Department of Justice
National Security Division, Foreign Investment Review Section
175 N Street, NE, 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
RE: Comments on 89 Fed. Reg. 15780 (March 5, 2024); RIN 1105-AB72; Docket No. NSD 104
The Business Roundtable (BRT) submits these comments in response to the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) from the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). BRT appreciates the opportunity to comment on the DOJ’s proposed regulations that restrict U.S. persons from engaging in certain data transactions.
BRT is an association of more than 200 chief executive officers (CEOs) of America’s leading companies, representing every sector of the U.S. economy. BRT CEOs lead U.S.-based companies that support one in four American jobs and almost a quarter of U.S. GDP.
BRT and its members take data privacy seriously and recognize the national security interests implicated by data privacy and security. BRT member companies invest heavily in privacy and security safeguards designed to protect sensitive information and implement robust compliance programs. Regulatory requirements should be appropriately scoped to address national security risks while avoiding unnecessary impacts on business operations, customer services or global competitiveness. For this reason, BRT urges the DOJ to tailor the proposed rules to focus on the data elements and transactions that are most likely to create material risks to Americans and national security, while avoiding unnecessary disruption of routine business operations. Additionally, BRT urges Congress to consider responses to this ANPRM when developing legislation that includes similar definitional and jurisdictional concerns.
In the letter, BRT answers key questions posed by the ANPRM.