Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group:

Mr. Liu, I have noticed that the protection of personal information is on the agenda during this year's China Cybersecurity Week. Since personal information leakage occurred now and again, how will the regulatory body act on the problem? Thank you.

Liu Liehong:

As you have mentioned, people have growing concerns over the protection of their personal information, and this issue will be highlighted during the China Cybersecurity Week. We are now working on several major measures to strengthen protection.

First and foremost, top priority is given to the cause of new legislation. We have been building a multi-dimensional legal system with laws and regulations formulated or ratified to strengthen protection. In June 2017, the country implemented the Cybersecurity Law. Now, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress has placed the Law of Personal Information Protection in their legislative framework. In addition, we have issued the Provisions on the Protection of Children's Personal Information Online and have finished soliciting public opinion on the Measures for Data Security Management and the Measures on Security Assessment of the Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Information.

Second, we have set up standards for the protection of personal information. Under the guidance of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee has attached importance to setting up standards for the protection of personal information. It issued the Personal Information Security Specifications and the Security Capacity Requirements for Big Data Services, among others, to strengthen data security management, enhance individual information protection and regulate the collection of personal information. More to the point, the committee has taken a lead in formulating the basic draft standards to regulate the way of collecting personal information by those mobile internet applications.

Third, we have launched special campaigns to crack down on violations. The Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation have made concerted efforts to act against apps' illegal collection of personal information. They oversaw the special campaigns targeting over 8,000 complaints posted online and assessing the conduct of more than 400 apps, which are popular or frequently downloaded by users. Among them, over 100 app operators with severe problems received a rectification notice.

Fourth, we have made efforts to publicize the importance of protecting personal information. We will empower people with the basic knowledge of the protection of personal information through various ways and channels. We have exposed illegal conduct and criminal cases, and launched educational programs to raise people's awareness and enable them to distinguish violations. In particular, we will choose a day during the week-long campaign to emphasize the protection of personal information. Thank you.