Diritto ed Economia dell'ImpresaISSN 2499-3158
G. Giappichelli Editore

10/03/2022 - China: data protection in the automotive industry.

argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: China - data protection - industry

With effect from 1st October 2021, China has issued the Provisional Regulations on Data Security Management in the Automotive Industry, that constitute part of the current legislation on data protection, which mainly consists of Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law. The core of the Regulations lies in the extensive obligations for the processors of automotive data. Such legal obligations are also relevant for German and European car manufacturers and suppliers with Chinese operations, because the collection and processing of vehicle data is an important foundation for playing a leading role in the future automotive industry, let’s think, for example, to autonomous driving and Internet of Vehicles, the also called “IoV”. The Regulations affect the so-called “automotive data processors” who process “automotive data” in China, which include automobile manufacturers, parts and software suppliers, distributors, maintenance and driving service providers. Automotive data refers to personal information and important data related to the design, manufacturing, sales, use, operation and maintenance of vehicles. Processing of automotive data means collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision and publication of the data. The concept of “important data” is defined very broadly, including data that might endanger national security, the public interest or the rights and interests of individuals or organizations in case it is tampered with, damaged, disclosed, unlawfully obtained or used.