By Lan Xinzhen

Chinas Data Security Law was of- ficially passed on June 10 and will take effect on September 1. This is a basic law on data security， outlining the Chinese Governments fundamental ideas on data security and supervision.

In the age of big data， countries around the world are paying increasing attention to the protection of data sovereignty and security. So far a lot of countries and regions have enacted laws on data security. The European Union （EU） implemented the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018， and countries like the United States， Japan and Singapore， too， have issued their own laws and regulations on data and private information protection.

As a pioneer in global data development， China has promulgated its own data security laws in a bid to standardize this industry and ensure its security.

Legally speaking of ‘data

Following the booming of the Internet and its relevant applications， the term “data” is frequently thrown around in all of modern daily life. But what exactly are data？ And what kind of data will gather under the umbrella of the Data Security Law？ There was no explicit legal definition of the term available before the passing of the Data Security Law， and its absence will inevitably cause trouble in the real world.

For example， in April， Teslas use of incar cameras raised a lot of concerns among the public in China and elsewhere.

Complications， both moral and legal， abound in this regard. For example， should apps be allowed to collect user information？ What kind of accountability should the related business entities take if their users privacy is leaked？ How to define the responsibilities on data protection？ As a matter of fact， when the concept of Internet Plus first made its debut in a 2015 government report， these questions were already hot topics.

China began its investigation on data security to pave the way for this final legislation in 2018. The passing of this law signifies that there is a consensus on data protection and its supervisory measures across the industry are in place.

So， circling back to the initial question： What are data？ In line with Article 3 of the law， the term “data” signifies any record of information collected in electronic or any other form.“Data processing” shall include the collection， storage， use， processing， transmission， provision and public disclosure of data.“Data security” means that basic， essential measures are carried out to safeguard the effective protection as well as lawful utilization of data and guarantee a continued state of security.