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Blockchain
TechPolicy

People's Daily unit issues first ‘data certificates’ in China to prove data ownership and rights

  • People Data, a unit under the People’s Daily, has issued certificates covering data ownership, data processing rights and data management rights
  • The company, which hopes to build a nationwide data transaction platform, says it records data ownership on the blockchain

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A unit under the People’s Daily has issued certificates pertaining to data ownership and rights. Photo: Shutterstock
Ben Jiangin Beijing

A company affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda mouthpiece has started issuing “data certificates” for proving data ownership and trading rights, ostensibly to stimulate data trade.

People Data, which falls under the People’s Daily, gave out three certificates, covering data ownership, data processing rights and data product management rights, respectively, the firm announced on its website on Tuesday.

Government agencies, institutions and corporate entities in China are trying to profit from the trading of data, which has been identified as a new production factor along with capital, land, labour and technology. Local governments in southern tech hub Shenzhen and coastal financial centre Shanghai, for instance, have launched data exchanges to try to bridge demand and supply.

However, a long list of legal and practical issues related to data trading have yet to be resolved. One of them is the fundamental question of who owns what data.

The main entrance of the People’s Daily office in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
The main entrance of the People’s Daily office in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

In a bid to verify data ownership, People Data has created People’s Chain – a so-called blockchain-as-a-service platform based on the shared, immutable ledger technology.

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