Online leaks of the Chinese public’s personal information have prompted authorities to consider making new laws regarding how internet operators collect user data, reports the Beijing Times.

Currently, authorities are considering draft regulations. A senior official from the National Information Security Standardisation Technical Committee (NISSTC) said that data collection process standards are awaiting approval.

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New legislation, in addition to the current standards, should also be passed to further enhance the protection given to the population’s privacy, said the committee’s secretary general.

According to a draft of China’s Network Security Law, internet operators must get permission from netizens before they could ask for their details. They should also inform them as to why their data is required, how and for what purpose it will be used, as well as the rules that govern its collection.

The Network Security Law is still being discussed by China’s top legislative body, notes the South China Morning Post.

Data Leaks

In a report released last year by the Internet Society of China, it is revealed that almost 80 percent of netizens have had their personal information leaked. The leaked information includes names, addresses, ID card numbers and even employment details. For more than 60 percent of these, phone calls and online shopping records have been leaked as well.

Earlier in April, non-medical hospital data of more than 200,000 children that included names, contact numbers and addresses have been leaked online, reports the Global Times. These children, all of them from eastern Shandong province, have received services from unnamed hospitals in China.

Although illegal, the leak is somewhat accurate, reports Qilu Evening News. Qilo obtained a sample data list containing the contact numbers of 29 children affected by the leak. The newspaper found that the leak was more than 60 percent accurate after calling the contact numbers specified.

Data regarding babies born in Beijing, including about 40,000 born since the start of the year, is also sold online for 0.2 yuan per baby, the Global Times said.

TagsInternet, Personal Information, User data, Network Security Law, National Information Security Standardisation Technical Committee, Internet Society of China