Pushing through one of the toughest compliance norms, the new law on personal information protection, to check personnel data collected by the Chinese tech companies, the Communist Party-led government in China continues its crackdown on global tech including Alibaba and Tencent.
The new law that looks to tighten its control over information gathered by companies about the public is also seen as a crackdown on internet industries. The law would impose some of the world’s strictest controls on private-sector handling of information about individuals but appears not to affect the ruling party’s pervasive surveillance.
Its passage follows anti-monopoly actions against companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba and games and social media operator Tencent.
The law, which takes effect November 1, follows complaints that firms misused or sold customers’ data without their knowledge or permission. The law curbs what information companies can gather and sets standards for how it must be stored.
The law is similar to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, but unlike laws in Western countries, the Chinese legislation says nothing about limiting the ruling party or government access to personal information.
