New privacy laws leash firms

New draft regulations forbidding leaking the personal information of Internet, cellphone and landline users were released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Wednesday, marking the latest step to reinforce privacy protection.

The drafts, now posted on the ministry's website to solicit public opinion, rule that telecommunications service operators, regulatory agencies and their employees are prevented from selling or illegally sharing their customers' personal information. Breaking the law can mean fines as high as 30,000 yuan ($4,842), and possible criminal charges.

Applicants for landline numbers, cellphone numbers and wireless Internet services are subject to a real-name process in which they are required to hand over their personal identity cards to service providers, state the regulations. If personal ID isn't provided, the application must be refused.

Xue Kepeng, associate professor of civil and economic law at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that the draft regulations are a follow-up of a circular by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in late 2012.

"The drafts now specify how the entities that have leaked and sold personal information will be punished," Xue said. "Telecommunication operators can no longer freely use personal information to make extra profits like before."

Although the country has a huge number of Internet users, it lags far behind some developed nations in protecting privacy in the digital era, Xue noted.

The regulations, after enacted, will likely slash those operators' profits, forcing them to conceive more innovative and legitimate way to make money, he said, and strike a hard blow on underground information traders.

Currently, companies often trade or sell users' information for marketing purposes, contributing to the spate of spam and telemarketing that blights Chinese users daily.

The drafts also demand telecommunication companies and Internet service providers make public their contact information where they collect customers' feedback, and they are also asked to resolve complaints lodged by consumers within 15 days.

Employees with service providers are reminded to be highly aware of their responsibilities.

Xue told the Global Times that he was cautiously optimistic about their effectiveness, doubting that the supervision process could really be carried out.

He added that many laws and regulations in the country never root out the problems because of the weak law enforcement and supervision efforts.

"Problems with supervision have to be solved first," Xue said, "or the new law will be just another futile ornament allowing privacy leaking cases to plague the Internet."