Daily Management Review

China to set up Big Data trade


07/21/2021


China's tough regulatory policy on local tech giants is just one part of a broader project to create a big data trading system, Reuters reports.



liftconferencephotos
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The plan has been in the works for years but has now been accelerated. It involves creation of pilot projects for state-controlled data trading markets, according to the documentation. By implementing the plan, Beijing intends to rescue the country's economy by supporting slowing growth.

China's data security law will come into force in September, requiring companies processing "critical information" to assess risks and file reports. Organisations processing data that relates to national security must undergo annual audits. However, gaining control over data from such considerations is only one aspect of a strategic effort to create a state-controlled market for information, including both government data and data collected by private companies. This is about any type of information - health records, court documents, purchase histories.

Work on the data market has been going on for years. In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a closed-door meeting, demanded a study of state data controls in other countries to propose a Chinese plan of its own. Efforts in this direction intensified in 2020, when a Chinese State Council document identified data as another factor of production, along with labour, technology, land and capital. This was soon followed by the draft Information Security Law, which calls for massive audits of big data.

In March this year, the Council of State unveiled a digital economy plan that calls for experimental data markets and calls on the authorities to "lead and strengthen economic oversight" of online services. One such platform will be launched by the end of the year and will trade data and track its transmission.

source: reuters.com