On The Civil Protection Of Personal Data

Although Mr. Zheng wrote about the problems of the protection of personal information specially in 1980s, the problems have not become a hot topic in the field of the science of civil law in China, until now there are few scholars concentrating themselves on them systematically. Among the problems of the protection of personal information there is a most difficult one what should be regarded as the base for the personal information protection? Having being impacted by the concept of privacy, our home scholars tend to adopt privacy system in order to protect the personal information, but this choice doesn't accord with the personal rights system of Civil Law System. Based on the full study on the updated personal information legislation, it should be argued that China adopt the pattern of the personal rights protection of Civil Law System and make the right to personal information the civil law base for personal information protection.The right to personal information could be embodied in six forms, the right of access to personal information, the right of rectification, the right of erasure, the right of blocking, the right of automated decision-taking and the right of preventing processing for purposes of direct marketing. The right to personal information could be adopted as a independent civil right by our civil legislation for it already has specific content and scope. As the right to personal information provides fairly limited protection to personal information, it should be emphasized that we should add two new types of infringements to our infringement law in order to provide protection more satisfyingly.As the problem of the protection of personal data occurs as a new hot topic in the study of civil law, I haven't talked about all the problems concerned by reason that I have limited individual time and ability. Therefore I am especially sorry for neglecting the problem of the contract law protection, meanwhile expecting the readers' forgivingness.