China ministry orders 38 apps to rectify excessive collection of personal data (updated)
03/11/2021 10:09
(Adds background, detail)
SHANGHAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - China's government on Wednesday
ordered 38 apps from a number of companies including social
media giant Tencent Corp 0700.HK to rectify what it called the
excessive collection of personal information.
The order marks the latest move in a continuing regulatory
crackdown in China across a range of sectors, and arrives days
after China's Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), a
sweeping ordinance dictating online privacy practices, went into
full effect.
In a statement posted on a social media account of the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the
regulator found that the apps in question collected unnecessary
personal information. It ordered the apps to rectify their
practices before November 9 or face administrative penalties.
The apps listed included a news app and music streaming app
from Tencent, as well as the beauty-oriented social network
Xiaohongshu. Tencent and Xiaohongshu did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
China's implementation of its privacy law arrives amid
increasing public scrutiny about privacy and data collection
from large tech companies. The law complements the Data Security
Law, a framework for how companies store and classify data,
which also went into effect this year.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz, Editing by Louise Heavens, William
Maclean)
((Josh.Horwitz@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 20830007;))