China is cracking down on exporting customer data internationally, requiring that companies get the government’s permission first.
China has been cracking down on its tech companies in recent months. The video game industry has been particularly hard hit, with Beijing limiting how many hours per week kids can play games.
According to the AP, in its latest efforts Beijing is restricting how much data companies can collect about their customers.
A separate law that takes effect Monday establishes security standards, prohibits companies from disclosing information without customer permission and tells them to limit how much they collect. Unlike data protection laws in Western countries, the Chinese rules say nothing about limiting government or ruling Communist Party access to personal information.
Companies will also have to report what and how much customer information they plan to transfer internationally, as well as what security measures have been implemented to protect the data. Regulators will decide within a week of a report whether to accept and approve it, or whether to launch their own review. If the regulators decide to initiate a review, the process can take up to 60 days.
The new regulations could put Chinese companies at a major disadvantage when competing globally.