New Chinese law to impose more personal information protection duties on internet giants

Visitors view exhibits at the 2019 China Cybersecurity Week expo as part of a week-long national awareness campaign on cybersecurity in north China's Tianjin, Sept. 16, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A new draft law submitted to China's top legislature for review has proposed imposing more requirements related to personal information protection on the country's big internet platforms.

The draft law on personal information protection on Monday returned to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for a second reading.

According to the draft, big internet platforms that possess the personal information of a large number of users must set up an independent body mainly composed of outsiders to supervise how the information is handled.

The internet giants are also required to publish social responsibility reports on personal information protection on a regular basis.

Lawmakers will deliberate the draft in group discussions during the ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee, which runs from Monday to Thursday.