China to get tough on abuse of online personal details
By Xu Chi |
December 25, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA is cracking down on the theft, sale or abuse of personal information with the country's top legislature deliberating a draft decision to tighten online security and protect Internet users' privacy.
China will protect digital information that could be used to determine the identity of a user or that concerns a user's privacy, according to the draft decision submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress yesterday.
The draft bans individuals or companies from sending business information to cell phones or e-mail accounts without their owners' permission. Punishments for violators have not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, Internet users will be required to identify themselves to service providers, including Internet or telecommunications operators, before they can publish any information on their online platforms, according to the draft. Internet users may use nicknames when publishing information online but only after they complete the identity checking process.
"Such identity management could be conducted backstage, allowing users to use different names when publicizing information," Li Fei, deputy director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling lawmakers yesterday.
The draft decision aims to enhance social management on the Internet and ensure the safety of information online, Li said.
The move to protect personal information, filter spam messages and establish an online identity policy follows a surge in online scams, fraud and identity theft in recent years.
According to one report by a major anti-computer virus company, more than 257 million people in China had been the victims of Internet crime in the 12 months since July last year.
The report said these crimes had caused direct economic losses of 289 billion yuan (US$46.3 billion).
Many suspects had not identified themselves to service providers or simply used false details, making it hard for the authorities to collect evidence, China National Radio reported.
The lack of a law banning Internet users from publishing information without their identities being checked had made illegal online activities easier, CNR reported.
The draft follows a regulation issued in Beijing last year which required local microblog operators to register users with their real names in a bid to stop online rumors.
A nationwide real name registration policy for mobile phones took effect on September 1, 2010, enabling police to track down spammers once the senders' numbers were reported to them.
China will protect digital information that could be used to determine the identity of a user or that concerns a user's privacy, according to the draft decision submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress yesterday.
The draft bans individuals or companies from sending business information to cell phones or e-mail accounts without their owners' permission. Punishments for violators have not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, Internet users will be required to identify themselves to service providers, including Internet or telecommunications operators, before they can publish any information on their online platforms, according to the draft. Internet users may use nicknames when publishing information online but only after they complete the identity checking process.
"Such identity management could be conducted backstage, allowing users to use different names when publicizing information," Li Fei, deputy director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling lawmakers yesterday.
The draft decision aims to enhance social management on the Internet and ensure the safety of information online, Li said.
The move to protect personal information, filter spam messages and establish an online identity policy follows a surge in online scams, fraud and identity theft in recent years.
According to one report by a major anti-computer virus company, more than 257 million people in China had been the victims of Internet crime in the 12 months since July last year.
The report said these crimes had caused direct economic losses of 289 billion yuan (US$46.3 billion).
Many suspects had not identified themselves to service providers or simply used false details, making it hard for the authorities to collect evidence, China National Radio reported.
The lack of a law banning Internet users from publishing information without their identities being checked had made illegal online activities easier, CNR reported.
The draft follows a regulation issued in Beijing last year which required local microblog operators to register users with their real names in a bid to stop online rumors.
A nationwide real name registration policy for mobile phones took effect on September 1, 2010, enabling police to track down spammers once the senders' numbers were reported to them.
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