After acting on the overseas listing of Didi and other companies, Chinese authorities are planning to tighten their grip on data regulation. Chinese southern Guangdong province said it plans to build a common data platform for the Greater Bay Area (GBA). GBA includes Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. The plan includes a data trading market in Shenzhen, a sub-provincial city in Guangdong state.
A data “customs hub”
Apart from a common data platform, the state will establish a data “customs hub”. The hub will review and supervise data that crosses Chinese borders.
A statement on the government’s website said that the government will “promote the circulation and sharing of data between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau and the use of data to benefit industrial development, social governance and services for the people.”
What this is all about?
Countries around the world are grappling with the issue of data transfer to other countries. The European Union has got the lead on the issue and only allows the transfer of personal data to countries that have a favorable data privacy regime. India is also coming up with data localization requirements. Similarly, Chinese authorities are trying to limit unregulated data transfers. Hence they are looking into cybersecurity measures of companies listing or listed in the United States. The measures include governance of data storage, transfer, and personal data privacy.
Last Saturday, after it launched an investigation into US-listed firms, the Cyberspace Administration of China said that any company with data of more than 1 million users must undergo a security review before listing its shares overseas.
The Chinese government has also come up with a draft three-year action plan to develop the country’s cybersecurity industry.
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