Application Of Purpose Restriction Principle In Personal Information Protection

As a basic principle of personal information protection generally recognized by the international community,the purpose restriction principle includes clear purpose and use restriction.Its purpose is to protect the information rights and interests of the information subject from being infringed,and to restrict the information collection and use behavior of the information controller.Article 6 of the Personal Information Protection Law stipulates the principle of purpose limitation.This principle clearly stipulates that the purpose of information collection should be stated at the time of collecting personal information,and information should not be collected and used beyond the specified purpose or the purpose agreed with the information subject,thus infringing the information subject’s right of free control of personal information.The advent of the digital age makes the traditional principles of personal information protection face new risks and challenges.On the one hand,the information rights and interests of the personal information controller are inevitably infringed by the information controller in the strong position due to his weak position.On the other hand,in the digital era,as an effective circulation resource,personal information is very important for the development of society.If strict standards are used to restrict the flow of information,the development of social economy and other aspects will be hindered,and the innovation of some enterprises and the overall scientific and technological development level will be limited.In the long run,the harm to the society will be obvious.The purpose restriction principle has experienced a long period of development in China.Since the first mention of the purpose restriction principle in the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Internet Information in 2012,many related laws and regulations and related legal documents have been promulgated successively.The purpose restriction principle was clearly stipulated in the official release of the Personal Information Protection Law in 2021.Without the principle of purpose limitation,the protection of personal information may become difficult.However,in an era of rapid development,various types of information technology are developing at a rapid pace,and the traditional framework for the current collection and use of personal information data has become unsustainable.The dilemma of the purpose restriction principle lies in: first,the unequal status of the information subject and the information control subject,resulting in the information subject’s relevant information rights and interests being vulnerable to infringement and unable to achieve true consensus;Secondly,due to the increasing complexity of outdated technology and algorithms in information processing,and the increasing reliance on personal information,the principle of purpose restriction,which adheres to the principle of openness and transparency,is not practical,and it is difficult for information subjects to realize their right to independent choice;Thirdly,in the current era of rapid development of data technology,restrictions on the collection of personal information are too strict,which may harm innovation in information technology.In summary,the current dilemma of the principle of purpose limitation in China’s legal provisions and legal practice is mainly due to the paradigm of information consent by information subjects.Despite numerous modifications and continuous improvements,there are still some theoretical or practical issues,the main core of which is the treatment of the right to self-determination of personal information.Therefore,a sound design should be carried out around this right.As a basic part of the whole big data utilization rule,the purpose restriction principle should be applied to it.Facing the dilemma positively,through in-depth jurisprudential analysis,the author constructs the elastic and interpretive space of personal information collection and use rules in the current digital era.The purpose restriction principle of personal information protection has an extremely important position.For the development of society and the protection of personal information,its application should be adjusted.First of all,it is necessary to standardize the processing mechanism of personal information,so as to ensure the right to know and the rights and interests of personal information subjects by making the software pre-equipped with privacy clauses and the informed consent of information subjects dynamic.Secondly,hierarchical protection of personal information,the current classification is not suitable for the needs of information protection in the era of big data.Finally,balance the interest relationship between subjects,so that personal information can not only be well protected,but also play its due value,promote the development and progress of information technology.