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China passes new privacy law aimed at protecting users' personal data




China passes new privacy law aimed at protecting users' personal data

State media reported that China has passed a new privacy law aimed at protecting users' personal data. The new law comes as Chinese tech firms have come under renewed scrutiny in the country, and rules over how companies handle users' information. The law takes effect from 1 November.

The law - formally called the Personal Information Protection Law - was passed by China's legislature on Friday, Reuters reported, and asked companies to obtain users' consent before collecting personal data, and its rules That companies should ensure that users' data is secure when it is transferred outside of China. Tech companies that handle personal information must have a designated person to oversee its security, and companies must conduct regular audits to ensure they are complying with the law.

In addition, companies handling personal user data must have a clear and reasonable purpose for doing so, and limit it to the "minimum scope necessary to achieve the goals" of handling said data, according to Reuters .

In an op-ed in Chinese state media outlet People's Court Daily, the National People's Congress applauded the new law, Reuters reported.

"Personalization is the result of user choice, and true personalized recommendations should ensure the user's freedom to choose without compulsion," the op-ed piece read. "Therefore, users should be given the right not to use personal recommendation functions."

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