China Proposes Draft Regulations for the Protection of Personal Information Collected Via Mobile Applications

On April 26, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, jointly released the draft Interim Regulations on the Administration of Personal Information Protection for Mobile Internet Applications. The Draft Interim Regulations apply specifically to data collection via mobile applications and are intended to function alongside China's currently proposed omnibus data protection legislation, the Personal Information Protection Law. The Draft Interim Regulations were open for public comment until May 26, 2021, and the US-China Business Council submitted comments from its members, including Perkins Coie. Notable aspects of the Draft Interim Regulations include:

• Scope: the regulations would apply to the processing of personal information in China collected via mobile applications used within China.
• Requirements to obtain informed consent: mobile app developers and operators are required to provide transparency on their data practices to users and obtain their consent before processing their personal information.
• Specific guidance on the principle of minimum use.
• Specific obligations required of key parties in the ecosystem: including mobile app developers/operators, app distribution platforms, app third-party service providers, mobile smart terminal manufacturers, and network access service providers.