"Illegal apps are rampant on the internet and a threat to everyone's privacy and safety," said Qin An. Photo: IC

As China strives to provide security for personal information, faster legislation is expected to balance commercial use and individual data protection, a Chinese analyst said on Monday.

China will establish a legal system to protect personal information to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in cyberspace, Hu Xiao, deputy director-general of the Cyberspace Administration of China's (CAC) Cybersecurity Coordination Bureau, told an industry forum.

Hu said that more effort is needed to clarify requirements for the collection, storage and use of individual information, and regulate the process of collecting personal information.

Special action should be taken to crack down on violations of personal data and punish hacker attacks and cyber crimes. Attention must also be given to apps that illegally collect users' private information, Hu said.

The Ministry of Public Security has recently asked about 100 domestic companies to remove apps that have illegally gathered users' information from app stores, and ensure rectification of these apps.

The official also said the legislative process needs to proceed more rapidly.

China has made progress in personal information protection over the past few years, based on relevant laws and rules, but it takes time to put policies into practice, analysts said.

Chinese legislators have attached great importance to data security as the country approved the National Security Law in 2015 and the Cybersecurity Law in 2016.

Definitions included in existing laws and regulations on data information are somehow vague, such as what exactly constitutes public information, Wu Hao, a Shenzhen-based industry analyst, told the Global Times on Monday.

There is much room for legal improvement. For instance, laws could specify what particular kind of personal information must be protected or what rules businesses must follow in utilizing individual data, Wu said.

China's cybersecurity industry is estimated to be worth 60 billion yuan ($8.52 billion) in 2019, up more than 20 percent from last year, compared with an 8-percent global average, according to the CAC.
Newspaper headline: Nation strengthens efforts to protect personal data