On Legal Issues Concerning Cross-Border Transfers Of Personal Data

The free movement of personal data is invaluable for modern society.However,the prosperity and freedom of the information world have also aroused concerns about the security of personal data,particularly in these days when the cross-border transfers of personal data has become easier,while its supervision gets increasingly complicated.To address the challenge of adequate protection of individual rights and promotion of free movement of personal data,countries,regions,bloc of nations and international organisations have successively formulated various rules on personal data protection.Nevertheless,due to the difference in national legislation,technological development and awareness of personal data protection,there are disparities among these standards and security measures laid down in respect of cross-border transfers of personal data.Therefore,regional or international consensus is the best way to both fully protect individual rights and promote the free movement of data.As the highest standard,and the most stringent and the most widely applicable rule in the field of personal data protection at present,the General Data Protection Regulation adopted by the European Commission in 2016 will,as foreseeable,influence and change the way of collection,processing,and protection of personal data by worldwide public authorities,corporates and natural persons.For China,who has not yet provided adequate protection for personal data,it is necessary to analyze the specific provisions of General Data Protection Regulation,especially those concerning the "Transfers of Personal Data to Third Countries or International Organisations",and to explore its potential impact on the data subjects in EU as well as on global economic and legislative developments,with the aim of seeking for theoretical reference for Chinese legislation and international cooperation,and practical suggestions on compliance of Chinese corporates targeting the EU market with regulations concerning cross-border transfers of personal data.