Cheryl Brown, China’s Pragmatic Privacy Laws Beyond APEC: Does Generational Culture Matter?
Comment by: Stefaan Verhulst
PLSC 2010
Workshop draft abstract:
Culture and tradition remain significant influences in China’s conception of privacy and implementation of data protection laws. At the same time, the National People’s Congress initiation of privacy protection legislation reveals the prospect of evolving laws emphasizing protection of data privacy based on domestic and international developments. Although a growing literature focuses on surveillance intrusion violations of Internet filtering and social networking mining, this paper will examine five factors influencing national and international perspectives of China’s approach to privacy and data protection: (1) privacy concerns of RFID technology of China’s second-generation national identification card; (2) personal data leaks of consumer information by banks, insurance companies, and real estate companies as China seeks to build consumer trust in the modern banking and financial system; (3) data protection for citizens of countries engaged with China across borders in electronic commerce and outsourcing; (4) privacy compatibility with multinational and regional organizations in a soft power era; and (5) the changing leadership generations with backgrounds in the “soft sciences” of history, economics, management, business, journalism, and law. These factors may offer useful comparisons for addressing the convergence of an international framework for privacy laws and data protection.