HKRI Taikoo Hui Mall accused of illegally collecting consumers' personal information

The HKRI Taikoo Hui Mall in Jing'an District has been ordered to make amends for illegally gathering personal information from customers for its parking fee charging service.

Following a crackdown by local authorities on excessive gathering of consumers' personal information, the mall was found to be failing to post "clean codes" for billing parking fees.

The mall had been duping customers into following its WeChat account, and its privacy policy demanded consumers' approval to enter their ID card data, according to local cyber security authorities on Tuesday night.

The mall declined to make amends in an early meeting and would face penalties under China's personal information protection law if its misbehavior continues, according to authorities.

In July, the city's authorities started a coordinated crackdown on the excessive collection of personal information from consumers after the Shanghai Consumer Council revealed that over half of the 140 shopping malls evaluated had privacy issues when customers scanned QR codes to pay parking fees.

When consumers scanned a code to pay the costs, they were expected to register for mandatory membership or provide personal information such as their names and cellphone numbers.

A guideline was then issued to govern the market.

So far, over 1,700 shopping malls, hotels, and hospitals throughout the city have installed "clean codes" signs, which allow direct payment when people scan the code.

According to officials, continuous patrols and inspections will take place.