On July 21, 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) – the country’s primary regulator for cybersecurity and privacy – imposed a fine of RMB 8.026 billion (around $1.2 billion USD) on China’s largest ride-hailing company for violating data protection laws, including the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law. 

After more than seven months since China’s Personal Information Protection Law (《个人信息保护法》, “PIPL”) went into effect, Chinese regulators have issued several new (draft) rules over the past few days to implement the cross-border data transfer requirements of the PIPL.  In particular, Article 38 of the PIPL sets out three legal mechanisms for lawful transfers of personal information outside of China, namely: (i) successful completion of a government-led security assessment, (ii) obtaining certification under a government-authorized certification scheme, or (iii) implementing a standard contract with the party(-ies) outside of China receiving the data.  The most recent developments in relation to these mechanisms concern the standard contract and certification.

Continue Reading Cross-Border Data Transfer Developments in China

On Aug. 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress promulgated China’s Personal Information Protection Law, which will take effect Nov. 1, 2021. Serving as China’s first comprehensive law in the personal information protection area and based on China’s Constitution, the PIPL aims to “protect the rights and interests of individuals,” “regulate personal information processing activities,” and “facilitate reasonable use of personal information” (Article 1).
Continue Reading Analyzing China’s PIPL and How It Compares to the EU’s GDPR