Protect privacy during epidemic investigations, urge advisers

Local political advisers are calling for stricter protection of people's private information collected during epidemiological investigations.

In November last year, after a new coronavirus case was reported in the Pudong New Area, an investigation report about a close contact, surnamed Ni, was forwarded on messaging apps and social media. The report included the man's name, address, phone number and details of where he had been.

Ni's girlfriend Jin soon was seen on the top search list of Weibo because "all Shanghainese women envy her for her boyfriends' crossing the city to accompany her to have a meal every day." 

There were also rumors about the couple's relationship with some saying Jin is a "mistress".

One month later, the personal information of 20-year-old Chengdu woman, Zhao, who was confirmed with coronavirus, was revealed online and her tracking details were marked on a map by netizens. 

Since she had visited several pubs, her private life became a topic of online discussion, and even raised debate about whether it's appropriate for a young woman to go to so many such places.

Netizens were eager to identify who Zhao was, and some rubberneckers misled them with another woman's photo.

Starting November, at least 10 such cases have occurred in cities across the country, including Shijiazhuang, Shenyang and Hangzhou. It is feared leaks of epidemiological investigation reports could lead to cyber manhunt and cyber violence.

Shanghai now has taken this issue into consideration and decided to only report the places a person has visited.

Netizens have commented that this make sense as there's no need to know a patient's gender and age.

Some other cities have also take action including punishing people who have leaked reports.

In a proposal filed by a group of 31 local CPPCC members, led by lawyer You Minjian, it was stated that epidemiological investigation is mainly carried out through paper forms, calls and online tools like WeChat and Alipay, 

These are not very strong in privacy protection, with information leaked, lost and abused. The matter is made worse as such investigations are usually urgent, with huge amounts of information handled.

The members also believe that those who participate in epidemiological investigations do not have a strong sense of the law. 

Under the Civil Code of China, which took effect on January 1, government officials and statutory bodies should never illegally leak or provide people's privacy and personal information. And the law of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases stipulates medical institutes should not leak anything with patients' private information.

However, the large workload in epidemic prevention and control requires lots of people who haven't received professional training to join the epidemiological investigation, including some community, village and neighborhood committee workers. A number of them have been less conscious of secrecy and privacy protection. 

The political advisers also noticed that in some cases, there has been no tough penalty for those leaking personal information.

They suggest that the procedures of epidemiological investigation should be regulated with a standard operation manual. 

A system recording where people's private information is stored should be established, which can help track any leaks.

"Education and training on privacy protection should be given to those participating in epidemiological investigation work," You told The Shanghai Daily. "If such an incident occurs, authorities should give a timely and quick response as well as a fair and transparent treatment result released to the public."

In the construction of a "digital city," the protection of citizens' privacy will always be an issue that people lay emphasis on, he added.

According to another proposal on the same topic made by TV host Zang Xi and other 19 political advisers, they also think different access levels and permissions can be set for different groups. Those responsible for leaks should be clarified. The management of such documents and materials should be strengthened as well.

They advise that the report of epidemic-related information can be covered in a one-stop administration system and under the supervision of big data.