Advertisement
China drafts new regulations to curb excessive data collection by smartphone apps
- Government attaches ‘great importance to the protection of personal information’, IT vice-minister says
- IT ministry on Friday ordered 26 apps to take remedial action after they were found to have illegally accessed users’ microphones and contact lists
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
China is drafting new regulations to hold apps accountable for collecting excessive amounts of user data and forcing people to consent to their actions.
A provisional regulation, drawn up by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), will include 22 articles based on the principles of informed consent and data minimisation, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday.
Under those principles, smartphone apps will be required to tell users in plain language about their policies on processing personal information, and request their permission to access and use it. The apps should collect only personal data that is necessary and within the scope of the users’ consent.
Any companies that breach the regulations will be punished, which may include having their product removed from app stores, according to the CCTV report.
According to a statement on the MIIT’s website, vice-minister Liu Liehong told industry representatives on Friday that his department would speed up the release of the provisional regulation.
Advertisement