Infringement of personal information by APPs such as illegal acquisition, excessive collection, and excessive claims is very common. In order to put an end to and prevent this bad habit, the Internet Information Office of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the “Regulations on the Scope of Necessary Personal Information for Common Types of Mobile Internet Applications” in March this year, and it was officially launched on May 1. Recently, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced that 33 well-known input methods and map apps illegally collect and use personal information, and clearly ordered that rectification must be completed within 10 working days, otherwise they will be punished.
What are the apps that have been certified by Chinese authorities as illegally collecting and using personal information? Here is a list:
In order to prevent APP operators from illegally collecting and using personal information, the Internet Information Office of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the “Regulations on the Scope of Necessary Personal Information for Common Types of Mobile Internet Applications” which officially came into effect on May 1. This regulation clearly stipulates the scope of personal information that must be collected by 39 types of mobile apps for local guide/navigation, online ride-hailing, instant messaging and online shopping. It also requires developers not to refuse to provide basic functions of the app because users do not provide unnecessary personal information. In accordance with the “Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Methods for Determining Illegal Collection and Use of Personal Information by Apps” and other laws and relevant regulations, the Cyberspace Administration of China tested the personal data collection and use of some apps that are widely used by the public, such as Chinese input method and map navigation, and found that 33 apps violated the regulations and must complete rectifications within 10 working days, otherwise they will be fined.
The 15 input method APPs and 17 map navigation APPs that were named were all found to be in violation because most of them collected personal information unrelated to the service. The only instant messaging app on the list, Lianxin, actually induced users to allow them to access their mobile phone address books, and also sent spam marketing messages to contacts in their address books.
Apps that have been named as being involved in violations of laws and regulations include Sogou, Baidu, Octopus, QQ input method, Baidu Maps, Tencent Maps, Beidou Navigation, Amap, Sogou Maps, and other widely used well-known apps., causing great shock to Chinese netizens。
The list of 33 apps that violate regulations announced by China is as follows:
1. Input method APP:
2. Map APP:
3. Instant messaging APP:
Since most free input methods or map/location apps make money by collecting users’ personal information for advertising or other purposes, if the Chinese government’s rectification measures are taken seriously, it may have a major impact on the ecology of China’s APP industry. Furthermore, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also announced that it will further rectify hot issues such as tools and communication apps that deceive users into downloading, pop-up information that is difficult to close, illegal sharing of personal information, and use of third-party embedded software to harm users’ rights. Although this is a great boon to Chinese users, it also puts China’s APP industry ecosystem on an unknown path.
Source: KOCPC Chinese