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China to enforce first privacy protection standard
BEIJING, Jan 21, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
Anonymous messages, strange calls
and spam may stop harassing Chinese residents, as a national
standard on personal information protection will become effective
on Feb. 1.
According to the non-obligatory guideline, information
collectors should obtain permission before collecting and using a
person's sensitive private information, the Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday.
The guideline, which was published in November 2012, is the
first of its kind in the country.
With the wide application of information technology and booming
use of the Internet, the leaking of private information such as
phone numbers and purchase records, often for commercial purposes,
has increasingly aroused public anger and concern in China.
The guideline, which groups personal information into general
and sensitive categories, allows collectors to obtain general
information as long as a person shows no objection, and gain
sensitive information after being authorized by the person.
Information collectors should have specific and clear purposes
as well as sound reasons when processing personal information, and
delete the information once its intended use has been fulfilled,
according to the guideline.
It also states eight basic principles for personal information
protection, including that collectors should obtain no more
information than is enough to fulfill their purposes.
An alliance will be established to help develop self-discipline
on personal information protection among enterprises, the MIIT
said.
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