Keep pace with the times and improve the legal system for the protection of personal information

Original title: Keep pace with the times and improve the legal system for the protection of personal information

In the context of the new era, with the rapid development of information technology in mainland China, the security and protection of citizens' personal information has become the focus of attention of the whole society. With the development and wide application of information technologies such as the Internet and artificial intelligence, people's daily life is more and more closely related to information, and citizens' personal information is collected, transferred and used in large quantities, and the social and commercial value of personal information is becoming more and more prominent. At the same time, the leakage and abuse of citizens' personal information are becoming increasingly serious, and in order to protect the security of citizens' personal information, the mainland has established a variety of protection methods for personal information from multiple levels such as the Constitution, administrative law, civil law and criminal law. However, the content on personal information protection in the departmental laws is relatively scattered, and a scientific and orderly system has not been formed, the legal provisions with a high level of effectiveness are relatively abstract, and the problem of decentralization and fragmentation of legal norms is prominent.

As the last line of defense of the law, the criminal law is the last means for the state to protect the legal interests of individuals in society and maintain order, when the social harm of the act is so serious that civil and administrative sanctions cannot be punished, the criminal law will begin to play a role, but in terms of the protection of citizens' personal information, it does the opposite, before the civil law and other pre-legal norms are promulgated, the criminal law is first provided for crimes related to citizens' personal information, and the meaning of citizens' personal information is supplemented in the form of judicial interpretations. However, cases of infringement of citizens' personal information are still high, and the effect of criminal punishment in crime prevention has not been fully reflected. The reason for this is that the legal interests of the crime of protecting citizens' personal information under the Criminal Law are not yet clear; Vague and limited regulations on the means and methods of obtaining personal information, etc. To this end, it is necessary to continuously improve relevant laws and regulations, improve the professional level and law enforcement ability of law enforcement personnel, learn from successful legislation and practical experience at home and abroad, and strengthen publicity and education for citizens, so as to better protect citizens' personal information and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

Improve the criminal law system for the protection of citizens' personal information. First of all, attention should be paid to the convergence with other relevant laws and regulations, so that the criminal law, civil law, administrative law and other laws cooperate and complement each other to form a complete legal system, realize the comprehensive protection of citizens' personal information, and make it clear that the protection of the legal interests of the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information is limited to the right to information processing of personal information, that is, the right to information self-determination, which is in line with the vision of criminal and civil integration; Moreover, citizens' personal information should be judged on the basis of "identifiability", supplemented by the controllability of the information subject. Second, the criminal law should reasonably include "illegal exploitation". In the context of the information age, the economic value of personal information resources is often reflected in the utilization link, and compared with the collection and storage of information, the means of utilization are often the real attention and attention of information processors and information controllers. If not properly guided, its abusive behavior can also be fatal to citizens and society.

Improve the professionalism and law enforcement capacity of relevant law enforcement personnel. At present, the illegal and criminal acts of infringing on citizens' personal information in mainland China have the following characteristics: first, the illegal and criminal means are complex and diverse, including illegal acquisition, sale, purchase, and leakage of personal information; Second, the subject of violations and crimes covers a wide range of subjects, involving government agencies, enterprises and public institutions, social organizations, and individuals; Third, the chain of illegal and criminal interests is complex, most of which involve multiple entities; Fourth, violations and crimes are widely distributed regionally, and the phenomenon of cross-regional violations and crimes is relatively serious. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a coordination system for law enforcement departments and strengthen the training of relevant law enforcement personnel. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen coordination and communication between law enforcement departments, establish and improve cross-departmental cooperation mechanisms, promote the sharing of criminal clues and important intelligence between departments, break through regional restrictions, improve the effectiveness and pertinence of cracking down on violations and crimes, and comprehensively protect citizens' personal information; On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen the training of relevant law enforcement personnel, and the training content mainly includes relevant laws and regulations, technical skills and methods, investigation strategies and methods, etc., so that law enforcement personnel can have an in-depth understanding of the important characteristics and development trends of violations and crimes that infringe on citizens' personal information, improve the professional level and law enforcement capacity of law enforcement personnel, and lay a foundation for punishing illegal and criminal acts in accordance with law.

Learn from the legislative and practical experience of domestic and foreign citizens' personal information protection. The stones of other mountains can be used to attack jade. The mainland's protection of citizens' personal information can fully draw on relevant domestic and foreign legislation and practical experience, based on the mainland's national conditions and development status, fully absorb and learn from the relevant experience of other countries and regions in areas such as network security and personal information protection, and formulate laws and regulations suitable for its own development. First of all, in terms of legislation, we can refer to the legislative models of other countries on the protection of citizens' personal information. By drawing on the merits of the legislative experience of other countries and regions, the development of the mainland's legal system for the protection of citizens' personal information will be more comprehensive and rigorous. Second, in terms of administrative law enforcement, law enforcement efforts should be strengthened to infringe on the security of citizens' personal information, and special law enforcement agencies should be established to learn from the successful experience of other countries, so that special personnel can be responsible for investigating and dealing with illegal acts that infringe on citizens' personal information. Finally, in terms of justice, a public interest litigation system can be introduced to provide channels for citizens and social organizations to file public interest lawsuits in accordance with the law, reduce the cost of protecting the rights of citizens and enterprises, better safeguard the public interest, and improve judicial efficiency.

Strengthen citizens' awareness of the legal protection of personal information. Strengthening publicity and education for citizens, raising citizens' awareness of the security protection of personal information, is conducive to guiding citizens to consciously abide by laws and regulations, and promoting the formation of a positive atmosphere for jointly maintaining personal information security. Strengthening publicity and education on the security protection of citizens' personal information is not a one-time thing, and involves multiple aspects and subjects. First, schools should strengthen publicity and education for students, include personal information security education in the curriculum system, gradually cultivate and improve students' literacy in protecting personal information security, and attract students' interest and participation in learning by carrying out relevant themed class meetings, expert lectures, speech contests, public welfare activities, and so forth, to comprehensively increase students' awareness of personal information security and privacy protection. Second, give full play to the role of new media platforms, increase the intensity of publicity on personal information security, and increase citizens' awareness of personal information protection through public service advertisements, broadcast documentaries, and other forms. Finally, enterprises should be encouraged to actively fulfill their social responsibilities, strengthen internal and external information security management, and make full use of the Internet and big data to reduce the risk of personal information leakage. On the basis of the continuous improvement of laws and regulations related to the protection of citizens' personal information, the government, enterprises, schools and citizens have worked together to continuously improve citizens' awareness of information security protection.

The development of modern information technology has promoted the progress of society, and at the same time, it has brought great challenges to the security protection of citizens' personal information. It is necessary to continuously take measures to expand the scope of protection of the criminal law, promote the balance between personal interests and the public interest and national interests, improve the security awareness of mainland citizens in the protection of personal information, and create a safe, harmonious and law-based environment for socialist development. After improving the legal system for personal information protection, it is expected to directly enhance the public's confidence in personal information security, improve the public's trust in digital products and services, and promote the healthy development of the digital economy. Looking to the future, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to the development status and latest developments of personal information protection at home and abroad, and constantly revise and improve relevant laws and regulations to meet the development needs of a modern society under the rule of law.

(An Jun, Author's Affiliation: Hubei Institute of Automotive Industry)

Source: Ningxia Daily