New credit investigation regulations are coming, how to make personal credit information more secure
With the continuous improvement of my country's social credit system, the application of credit information has become more extensive.
At the same time, some unauthorized collection of personal information under the banner of big data companies, financial technology companies, etc., and use it for illegal profit often occur.
In addition, with the continuous emergence of new forms of credit investigation, the boundaries of credit investigation are unclear, and the protection measures for the rights and interests of information subjects are not in place.
A few days ago, the Central Bank issued the "Administrative Measures for Credit Investigation Services (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)," which stipulated credit information and credit investigation services, credit information collection and processing, etc.
This "method" under development is considered a heavy regulation of the credit investigation industry.
The Central Bank recently issued the "Measures for the Administration of Credit Investigation (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures").
This is another major new regulation that the credit reporting industry is expected to usher in following the implementation of the 2013 "Credit Reporting Industry Management Regulations" and "Credit Reporting Institution Management Measures".
At a press conference held by the People's Bank of China on January 25, Tian Di, deputy director of the People's Bank of China Credit Information Management Bureau, stated that personal credit information services need to be licensed to operate and be included in credit information supervision.
Under the banner of big data companies, financial technology companies, etc., it is illegal to engage in personal credit investigation without the approval of the People's Bank of China.
There are apps claiming to be able to quickly check credit information
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of my country's social credit system, the application of credit information has become more extensive.
However, some organizations excessively collect personal information without authorization and use it for illegal profit from time to time. Some criminals even focus on personal credit information and commit fraud.
According to public information on the China Judgment Document Network, from January to October 2018, a technology company used to develop second-hand product leasing platforms "Uleasing" APP, "Weixin" platform, etc., to automatically store registered users including personal names Personal credit information such as ID card number, mobile phone number and Sesame Credit Score, etc., and gained more than 8 million yuan from selling more than 2 million pieces of citizen information.
A reporter from the Workers’ Daily entered "Credit Investigation" in the mobile app store, showing that there are more than a dozen apps that can provide professional credit investigation reports.
Some claim to be directly connected to the central bank and get the credit report within two hours at the earliest.
The reporter found that these apps require multiple privacy permissions on the user's mobile phone, including location, phone number, access to the camera, and even reading text messages and communication records.
A comment stated that “the credit report inquired is not of much use, it is a scam of personal information”.
In addition, with the rapid development of mobile Internet, Internet finance, and blockchain technologies, new forms of credit investigation continue to emerge, the boundaries of credit investigation are not clear, and the protection of information subjects' rights and interests are not in place.
It is worth noting that the "Measures" clarify what is credit information, and around the links of credit information collection, sorting, storage, processing, provision and use, it is proposed that information collection follows the principle of "minimum and necessary". Prohibit acts, clearly inform the information subject and obtain consent, use for lawful purposes and other requirements, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the information subject in accordance with the law.
Yan Su, associate professor of the Law School of Beijing Technology and Business University and director of the International Law Department, said that clarifying the scope of credit information can help prevent personal information from being excessively collected.
On February 5, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology notified the second batch of apps that infringed on user rights and interests in 2021. 26 voice, input methods, browsers, and smart wearable apps entered the list. The violations involved illegal calls to the microphone, address book, photo album, etc. Wait.
Among them, 18 apps have the problem of "collecting personal information in violation of regulations", accounting for nearly 70%.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that the key issues involved in credit investigation are the protection of privacy and personal information security.
"The promulgation of the Civil Code puts forward new regulations on privacy and personal information protection. The "Measures" also refer to the contents of the Civil Code, the Cyber Security Law and other existing laws and regulations on the protection of personal information, as well as the personal information protection law (draft). The convergence has strengthened the protection of personal information." Zhu Wei said.
Some institutions play personal credit investigation business
In addition to abuse and misuse, credit information data also faces the risk of unauthorized inquiries.
According to the official website of the Shaoxing Central Branch of the People's Bank of China, on January 17, 2020, two banks were punished for inquiring about the credit information of enterprises without consent.
In addition, similar cases of being privately checked for credit investigation have also appeared on individual natural persons.
According to the "Survey on China's Public Credit Reporting Awareness" released by Rong360, over 30% of the respondents have encountered "inquired" personal credit reports.
Reporters searched on e-commerce platforms and webpages and found that there are a wide variety of institutions that provide various credit information services on the market, which are difficult to distinguish between true and false and involve a wide variety of businesses.
Some businesses claim that they can provide services such as credit information restoration and modification, and even some intermediaries claim to know bank insiders and can repair credit information through professional technical means.
The Measures clarify that information subjects can inquire about their own credit information from credit reporting agencies, and personal information subjects have the right to request credit reporting agencies to provide complete credit reports. Credit reporting agencies shall not delete bad information or not collect bad information as a Therefore, charge the information subject.
The provision of credit information services in the name of "credit information services, credit services, credit scoring, credit ratings, and credit repair" will also be included in the scope of management.
This means that the "side-kick" behavior of some institutions in the current market will be more effectively supervised.
Some people in the industry said that the credit investigation industry belongs to the financial industry and needs to clarify the operating standards for licenses. At the same time, as a data-intensive industry, it needs to strengthen the protection of data and information security.
Unauthorized personal credit investigation is not conducive to the protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers and the protection of personal information.
Detailed regulations are needed for personal credit evaluation
"In the future, credit may be more important than money." Zhu Wei said that in a credit society, personal credit investigation is closely related to people's lives, and its role is becoming more and more important, and credit investigation without rules can only damage the credit society.
Zhu Wei believes that on the one hand, the "Measures" protect the rights of the credit reporters to know, inquire, modify, delete, etc., and are an extension of the Civil Code on the protection of personal information; on the other hand, it clarifies that credit reporting agencies carry out credit reporting services The bottom line, especially the mention of social supervision, is to focus on maximizing the benefits of building a credit society and promote the healthy development of the credit investigation industry.
Yan Su pointed out that how to find an appropriate balance between the use of information and personal privacy is also a matter of concern.
In addition, Yan Su also proposed that the scenarios, extent, and purpose of credit evaluation applications for individuals should also be specified and specified in more detail.
At present, the punishment mechanism for untrustworthiness implemented in some places is controversial, such as connecting mobile phone arrears information to the personal credit investigation system, and some places plan to use credit investigation to restrict job-hopping.
"Convenience and impact on individual rights should be considered comprehensively, as well as whether there is a legal basis. The ultimate goal is to make personal life more convenient, reduce social management costs, and form a win-win situation for the country, society and individuals." Yan Su said.
Tang Shu