Bank in focus as comedian’s feud fuels privacy row
Print Edition
A DISPUTE between a comedian and his former employer ignited social media yesterday when it turned into an issue relevant to everyone — privacy protection.
Talk show host and comedian Wang Yuechi turned to Weibo to express his surprise at receiving his bank statements among files in a lawsuit sent by Shanghai Xiaoguo Media Co.
“You didn’t have my ID card, nor my debit card, and there is also no search warrant by any legal authority,” he posted. “So how could you get my personal information from a bank?”
Wang called China CITIC Bank, which told him that “we did this to satisfy the requests from a VIP client.”
Concerned over the bank’s violation of his privacy, Wang called the police and also reported the case to the banking and insurance regulatory commissions.
Online comments talked of similar experiences, expressing suspicion over whether such a large bank would violate privacy regulations.
But their suspicions turned to anger when the bank released a statement yesterday morning, apologizing to Wang over wrongdoings.
“Protecting the information security of our clients is a priority of our services and the lifeline of a bank,” it said in the statement.
“We have a comprehensive system and procedures in this regard, but some staff members didn’t strictly follow such procedures. We have punished the related employees according to our disciplinary rules. And the branch manager was also removed from his post.”
In the afternoon, the city’s banking and insurance regulatory commissions said the issue was being investigated.
Thousands of angry or sarcastic comments were posted on Chinese social media.
“I’m a VIP client, I would like to request Jack Ma’s bank statements.”
“I’m never going to use this bank.”
“So only the VIP clients are clients and we, the others, are to be leaked?”
Chinese people are becoming increasingly aware of their private information being leaked by various channels and institutions, and are questioning the legitimacy of such actions.
“Employees who have exposed personal information of clients may face criminal charges, and the bank is also responsible. The law is clear that banks ought to protect the private information of customers, except in cases of authorized requests by legal authorities,” lawyer Jason Yao told Shanghai Daily.
“And the employer has no right to request the bank statements on behalf of their employees.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
