Deputy renews call for data protection law

Wei Ming, chairman and general manager of China Mobile's Guangdong branch, has put forward a proposal urging that a data security law be drafted during the two sessions in Beijing — the annual gathering of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Wei said creating a data security law would establish legal norms to ensure information security for the State, enterprises and individuals.

"Given the data explosion, the demand for data security has become increasingly urgent," said Wei, a deputy to the 13th NPC.

He noted the rapid development of the internet of things, the industrial internet, cloud computing and big data, as well as other emerging fields and technologies.

On that background, data security not only faces traditional threats, including theft, tampering and forgery, but also has new problems such as increasing data abuse, including the disclosure of personal information and invasion of privacy, Wei said.

Many developed countries and regions around the world have promulgated laws and regulations related to data security in recent years, he said.

For example, he said, the European Union passed its General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, a series of strict and detailed regulations dealing with data and privacy.

The United States passed similar laws and regulations two years ago, he added.

Wei has long been concerned about personal information protection, data security and related issues. At last year's two sessions, he put forward a proposal on accelerating the crafting of a personal information protection law.

His ideas were endorsed by deputies and members during the two sessions last year.