China demands increased protection over private information

BEIJING - The political and legal affairs body of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has urged businesses to protect people's private information and impose severe punishment on those in the telecoms and banking sectors that leak such information.

At a national meeting on public security governance, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs (CPLA) of the CPC Central Committee said telecom companies and banks should improve trading systems and carry out real-name registration of phone users.

The move came amid a national campaign against rampant online and telecom fraud spreading across the nation, which has led to significant property losses and social instability.

The CPLA reiterated that telecommunication, banking and Internet companies should conduct security assessments before launching new services and products. Those that do not make relevant security measures will be held accountable.

The CPLA also urged the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security to issue an outline and judicial interpretation to solve difficulties in collecting evidence and recovering money in telecom fraud cases.

A confidential system should be set up to regulate institutions and staff who have access to personal information, the CPLA said.