Obama signed an executive order authorizing the new category of sanctions on Sunday. The tougher penalties are aimed in particular at those who facilitate human rights abuses in Syria and Iran, said the official, who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the order publicly.
Obama was to announce the new sanctions during a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
While rebellions in countries like Libya and Egypt have been fueled by cellphones and social media, some regimes have used technology to track dissidents or block Internet access.
Iran has provided the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad with technology to jam cellphones and block or monitor the social networking sites rebels would use to organize demonstrations.
Obama has also asked the US intelligence community to include assessments of the likelihood of mass killings in its National Intelligence Estimates.
Obama will announce a set of “challenge” grants for companies that help create new technologies to help warn citizens in countries where mass killings may occur.
The new White House policy was first reported by The Washington Post.
