Under the new rules passed by China’s top legislative body, state and private entities handling personal information will be required to reduce data collection and obtain user consent.
The Chinese state security apparatus will maintain access to swathes of personal data, however. Beijing has long been accused of harnessing big tech to accelerate repression in the northwestern Xinjiang province and elsewhere.
The new rules are also expected to further rattle China’s tech sector, with companies like ride hailing giant Didi and gaming behemoth Tencent in regulators’ crosshairs in recent months over misuse of personal data.
