“THIS is a step backwards for innovation in China that won’t do much to improve security.” Those damning words from James Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, describe his view of a sweeping new cyber-security law adopted on November 7th. Many foreign businesspeople agree with his dim assessment.
Though ostensibly designed to strengthen local networks against malicious hackers, in fact the bill looks very much like a techno-nationalist Trojan horse. The law affects both domestic and foreign firms operating on the Chinese mainland and covers a wide range of activity relating to use of the internet and information and communications technologies (ICT). It will not come into force until June next year, so it is not yet clear how the rules will be implemented.
Even so, several of them seem problematic. First, the government wants firms operating in “critical” areas to store inside China any personal information or important data that they gather in-country. But the law’s definition of critical is absurdly expansive. It includes ICT services, energy, transport, water resources, finance and...Continue reading
Source: China http://www.economist.com/news/china/21710001-foreign-firms-are-worried-china-adopts-tough-cyber-security-law?fsrc=rss
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