Top court emphasizes need to protect personal information

China's top court has reiterated the importance of protecting personal information in this digital age, calling on online platforms to foster a safe, regulated and orderly environment for data circulation.

On Thursday, the Supreme People's Court released its first set of six landmark cases involving data, including two focused on personal information, underscoring that robust protection of personal information is a crucial prerequisite for promoting the efficient circulation and use of data.

"Personal information is closely tied to the vital interests of the people, and is also integral to the development of the digital economy and public interests," the top court said, requiring judges nationwide to unify judicial standards and improve the quality of handling such cases.

In recent years, with the widespread use of apps, it has become common for app operators to collect users' personal information, raising concerns about privacy and data security and leading to an increase in related disputes, it added.

One disclosed case occurred between the operator of two English learning apps and a user surnamed Luo. In January 2021, the app's operator, a technology company, used two phone numbers collected from Luo during an offline activity to open online English learning accounts for him, and sent him multiple relevant text messages.

Luo was unhappy, but in order to understand the situation, he logged into the accounts using his phone number and found that he had to fill in details such as his occupation, educational level and English proficiency to proceed further. Throughout the process, there were no options to skip or decline, nor was there any prompt for "user consent to collect personal information".

Subsequently, he initiated a lawsuit against the company at the Beijing Internet Court, claiming it had forcibly used his phone numbers and excessively gathered his personal information. He demanded the deletion of his information, a public apology and 2,900 yuan ($407) in compensation.

"Users were compelled to click 'agree' and provide relevant information to use the apps, and otherwise, they would have to forgo using the software. This so-called 'agree' was not truly voluntary," the Beijing court said, adding that the information collected was also not necessary for the apps' functional services, which had violated the Personal Information Protection Law.

Additionally, according to regulations from the internet and public security authorities, the app, related to learning and education, should not include automatic information pushes to users as part of its basic functional services.

Therefore, the court determined that the company violated personal information rights in August 2022, ruling in favor of Luo.

The top court praised the ruling, saying that it serves as a reminder to app operators to enhance their awareness of personal information protection, and will help them strictly comply with the laws and regulations.

It also suggested that internet and technology enterprises should strengthen their data management systems to ensure the collection and utilization of users' information remain within legal boundaries.

It highlighted the need for creating a sound rule-of-law environment where people enjoy the benefits of digital development while promoting the efficient flow of data, adding that it is essential to continuously enhancing new drivers of economic growth.

It is not the first time that the top court has emphasized the importance of protecting personal information in the fast-developing internet era. Previously, it had issued guidelines to regulate the use of facial recognition technology, urging judges to impose harsh punishment on those infringing upon personal data.