Personal data protection a focus of Cybersecurity Week this year

Personal data protection will be under the spotlight at a national cybersecurity event next month, an official from China's top cyberspace affairs regulator announced on Wednesday.

Liu Liehong, deputy head of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, told a State Council Information Office news conference that personal information protection, a hot issue in recent years, would be "a major part of the upcoming 2019 Cybersecurity Week, which will be held nationwide from Sept 16 to 22".

He said the opening ceremony and major activities including a forum on personal information protection will be held in Tianjin.

The event is being co-hosted by his office and other government authorities, including the ministries of public security and education.

"Meanwhile, the issue will also be among the main content when we organize activities aimed at helping people prevent online financial and fraud risks," Liu said.

It will be the country's sixth annual Cybersecurity Week, designed to raise public awareness of the importance of fighting online threats and cyber attacks. The theme of this year's event is "cybersecurity for the people and by the people".

China has increased efforts to safeguard personal data in the past few years. For example, Liu's office launched a crackdown on smartphone applications after receiving about 8,000 reports that apps were suspected of improperly collecting users' private information. After a review, the office sent rectification orders to more than 100 app operators with serious problems.

"In addition, we also exposed improper personal information collection behaviors of some internet enterprises and online platforms to help residents enhance self-protection awareness," Liu said.

He said the office will strengthen the protection of personal data and make regulations to govern it and data security management as soon as possible.

"The app crackdown will also continue to strictly combat those making use of the nation's data and personal information to commit crimes," Liu added.