Regulations Of China's Personal Information Trans Border Flow Under International Multinational Regulations

Modern big data technology has given potential commercial value to personal information,and the rapid development of internet technology has allowed personal information to be freely transferred.Under the combination of the two,the cross-border transfer of personal information has occurred frequently.At the same time,however,the interests of personal information and national security are vulnerable to threats,so countries have established rules for the personal information flows.In 2017,China officially implemented the”Cybersecurity Lawof the People's Republic of China." Article 37 and Article 42 of this law and other implementing rules and standards constitute a regulatory system for the personal information flows in China.However,the regulatory system was rated,by other countries,too strict and vague that can hinder the development of international free trade.In view of this,it is necessary to discuss whether the regulatory system in China will hinder international trade;if it is possible to hinder,how to improve our regulatory system.As China's unified regulation system for the cross-border transfer of personal information has been initially established,there is little research on the regulation system under the international multilateral rules.Therefore,this paper chooses to evaluate China's regulatory system from this perspective,and then proposes improvements based on the inadequacies.First,this article describes the core concepts related to cross-border transfer of personal information and the need for regulation by a country.Second,this paper analyzes the regulation of personal information flows from the perspective of the international soft law and international hard law GATS which have significant guidancefor countries.Although the former is not legally binding,it provides the country with choices of regulatory model and basic regulatory principle;the latter,in contrast,although the rules themselves are ambiguous,they are legally binding and require a balance between the regulatory objectives of a country with international trade through the Most-Favored-Nation Treatment,Domestic Regulation,Market Access and other provisions.Therefore,it is worth comparing and reflecting on the domestic regulatory system under the above-mentioned international rules for China or other countries.Furthermore,this article makes a comprehensive analysis of China's regulation system of personal information flows.Different from the default rule of free flow under the international soft law,our country advocates that personal information must be stored locally and cannot be transferred out of the country;if it is indeed necessary to leave the country,personal consent and security assessment are required.This default rule may seem more rigorous,but if it is so harsh that unfairly impeding free trade depends on the preconditions for exiting the information,namely personal consent and security assessment.Both are indispensable and together constitute a regulatory model with Chinese characteristics.Finally,based on the analysis of international multilateral rules and our country's regulatory system,the author makes an evaluation of our country's regulatory system.As far as international soft laws are concerned,there are insufficient considerations of the principle of proportionality in China's regulatory measures;in terms of the constraints of international hard law GATS,China's measures are in line with MFN treatment and other obligations,but may not meet the requirements of the GATS exception clause due to inadequate contribution to the goals or excessive restrictions on trade.In view of the above deficiencies,the author suggests that China's individual consent model,the network operator self-assessment,and the competent department security assessment should be improved in accordance with the guidelines for regulatory models,principles,and obligations in the international rules.