Legislation raises concerns foreign companies may need to hand over intellectual property and help security agencies in return for market access<\/p>\n
Reuters
\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bMonday 7 November 2016 01.33 EST<\/p>\n
China adopted a controversial cybersecurity law on Monday that it said would tackle growing threats such as hacking and terrorism but has triggered concern from foreign business and rights groups.<\/p>\n
The legislation, passed by China\u2019s largely rubber-stamp parliament and set to come into effect in June 2017, was an \u201cobjective need\u201d of China as a major internet power, a parliamentary official said.<\/p>\n
Overseas critics argue it threatens to shut out foreign technology companies and includes contentious requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers in China.<\/p>\n
Rights advocates also say the law will tighten restrictions on China\u2019s internet, already subject to the world\u2019s most sophisticated online censorship mechanism, known outside the country as the Great Firewall.<\/p>\n
Yang Heqing, an official on the National People\u2019s Congress standing committee, said the internet was already deeply linked to China\u2019s national security and development.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina is an internet power, and as one of the countries that faces the greatest internet security risks, urgently needs to establish and perfect network security legal systems,\u201d Yang said at the close of a bimonthly legislative meeting.<\/p>\n
More than 40 global business groups petitioned the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, in August, urging Beijing to amend controversial sections of the law. Chinese officials have said it would not interfere with foreign business interests.<\/p>\n
Contentious provisions remained in the final draft of the law issued by the parliament, including requirements for \u201ccritical information infrastructure operators\u201d to store personal information and important business data in China, provide unspecified \u201ctechnical support\u201d to security agencies, and pass national security reviews.<\/p>\n
Those demands have raised concern within companies that fear they would have to hand over intellectual property or open back doors within products in order to operate in China\u2019s market.<\/p>\n
James Zimmerman, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, called the provisions \u201cvague, ambiguous, and subject to broad interpretation by regulatory authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch said elements of the law, such as criminalising the use of the internet to \u201cdamage national unity\u201d, would further restrict online freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite widespread international concern from corporations and rights advocates for more than a year, Chinese authorities pressed ahead with this restrictive law without making meaningful changes,\u201d Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch, said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n
Zhao Zeliang, a director at the Cyberspace Administration of China, said every article in the law was in accordance with the rules of international trade and that China would not close the door on foreign companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey believe that [phrases such as] secure and independent control, secure and reliable, that these are signs of trade protectionism. That they are synonymous. This is a kind of misunderstanding, a kind of prejudice,\u201d Zhao said.<\/p>\n
Many of the provisions had been previously applied in practice, but their formal codification coincides with China\u2019s adoption of a series of other regulations on national security and foreign civil society groups.<\/p>\n