Comparative Study on Legal Regulations of Cross-border Transfers of Personal Information

Abstract

The free and rapid cross-border transfer of personal information is one of the main contributors to the prosperity of digital economy. However, China has relatively strict restrictions on the cross-border transfers of personal information. Although such provisions are conducive to safeguarding the interest of the individuals and the nation, they have adverse impact on giving full play to the commercial value of personal information in the era of digital economy. Additionally, China's insufficient participation in the formulation of international rules counts against to the construction of China's data discourse power. Therefore, the Chinese legislation is immature and needs to be perfected. This article analyzes the advanced legislative experience abroad, including the GDPR rules, the CBPR rules, and the Personal Information Protection Law of Japan. Taking actual situations of China into consideration, this article then puts forward four suggestions, including issuing practical standard contracts as soon as possible, promoting the construction of industry self-discipline mechanism, carrying out supplementary legislation in key areas, and participating on our own initiative in mapping out international rules.These suggestions are expected to benefit the perfection of China's legislation on the cross-border transfers of personal information as well as the enhancement of China's international data discourse power.