Chinese State Broadcaster CCTV Exposes Criminal Activities of Tech Companies on...

Chinese State Broadcaster CCTV Exposes Criminal Activities of Tech Companies on Personal Information Leaks

Chinese State Broadcaster CCTV Exposes Criminal Activities of Tech Companies on Personal Information Leaks

March 21, 2021 11:45 am

Beijing (PingWest)- China’s 315 evening galas, which is hosted by China Central Television, has exposed criminal activities of companies that leaked personal information and data for business purposes.

NYE-listed Chinese online recruitment service provider Zhaopin and Nasdaq-listed 51job are among the companies that were seriously criticized by the country’s national broadcaster.

Zhaopin and 51job have leaked the personal data of job seekers to criminals who sold the data to organization in black market for profits.

March 15, World Consumer Rights Day also known as 3.15 in China, aims to raise awareness of consumer wants and needs, and fight against unfair business practices

Each year, China Central Television (CCTV) holds 315 evening galas that shames companies for misconduct, consumer fraud, misleading advertisements, or any kind of unfair business practice that hurt the interests of Chinese consumers and citizens.

China’s 315 evening galas has also exposed illegal business activities of online education centers that buy Chinese schoolchildren’s personal data from syndicate in black market.  

According to the evening galas, police in eastern Jiangsu province, has arrested a group of criminals that buy Chinese schoolchildren’s personal information and data and sell the data to online education centers.

The personal data – including the children’s age, gender, city of residence, their parents’ information and phone numbers – were sold by an unnamed local company for as low as 0.06-yuan, equivalent to less than USD0.01.

The unnamed online education centers use the data they acquire to send sales calls to the children’s parents. The syndicate receives a commission for every successful sign-up of Children.

Online leaks of personal information are a common problem that triggered public backlash in China. In response, authorities have routinely launched crackdowns on criminal activities in order to better protect citizens’ safety and rights.

 In October 2019, the Cyberspace Administration of China rolled out the Provisions on Cyber Protection of Personal Information of Children. This regulation raised the level of protection required for the collection, storage, use, transfer and disclosure of children’s personal information in China.

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