To guard users' privacy, Shanghai rejects 22 data access requests

Shanghai has shut down 22 applications for collecting unnecessary personal information or deceiving users to download, the industry regulator said on Thursday.

China is making efforts to protect personal information and privacy, including introducing a special law to take effect in November.

The Shanghai Communications Administration has removed the applications, covering gaming, system optimization and logistics services, out of the app stores, as they "collect much unnecessary personal information and harness users," the regulator said.

More than 20 other applications will be shut down if they can't meet regulation compliance requirements by September, the administration said.

Most of those application developers are small companies with limited market shares, Shanghai Daily learned.

So far, 67 applications have been shut down as they "ask for permissions in violation of regulations or to harass users with pop-up messages," the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

On Friday, China passed its first Personal Information Protection Law to prevent businesses collecting sensitive personal data and to crack down on crimes like online fraud and data theft.

The law, which will take effect in November, is expected to improve data security and management in the world's second-biggest economy with over 1 billion netizens. It may bring challenges and changes for top tech giants, which highly depend on data-driven business.

The law, similar to Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), requires firms to justify their data collection and provide consumers with the right to access or delete their information, experts said.

It requires firms to offer options for users to turn off recommendation services based on their personal information and behavior.

But it's difficult for them to find where to turn off the features on websites like Weibo, Taobao and Alipay, according to media reports.