中国实行的隐私保护标准

The first national standard on personal data protection goes into effect on February 1st. It’s part of efforts to crack down on the illegal trade in personal information and guard against identity theft. Citizens and legislators took part in a public consultation process on the new national standard.

This could signal an end to unwanted internet junk mail and spam messages...

The non-compulsory guidelines state that organisations holding personal data should obtain permission before collecting and using a person’s private information.

Hou Na said, "I’m sure we’ve all felt harassed by incessant junk email and text messages at one time or another, but I have to admit I’m sometimes amazed by how well the spammers seem to know me. We rarely take spam seriously, but we should because there are often criminal rings behind them profiting from the trade in personal information."

In a high profile case last April, police across the country uncovered 44 "sources" dealing in the illegal sale of personal data. More than 150 million entries of private individual’s personal details had been stored in computers, including names, phone numbers, addresses, real estate and vehicle registration data, and phone and flight records. In a nationwide crackdown, police have arrested more than 1,700 suspects involved in trading private data. Members of the public say they expect the national guidelines to be more specific.

A resident said, "Cases of personal data violation should be classified and attract penalties which are in line with the seriousness of the violation. "

A resident said, "It’s important we remain responsible for safeguarding our own personal details. We should also try to strike a balance in protecting personal information and making sure that data protection regulations and the real-name system don’t affect our freedom of speech. . .."

Last December, China’s top legislature passed a bill to enhance online data protection.

Internet users will have to disclose their real identities to service providers when signing web access agreements.

Service providers are legally obliged to stop the transmission of personal data once a violation has been identified. The information must be removed from the internet, records saved and reports submitted to the supervising authorities.

Lawmakers say the key to the effectiveness of the law lies in its implementation.

Suo Lisheng, member of NPC Standing Committee, said, "The internet is a double-edged sword. Legislation helps better regulate the internet, but implementation is what will make it effective and this requires efforts from all sides..."

According to the guidelines, data holders should have a specific and clear purpose and sound reasons for processing personal data. The information must be deleted once its intended use has been fulfilled. But striking a balance between freedom of speech and the protection of personal information means implementing and upholding the national standard.