We need a special law to protect users’ information

Editor's Note: A public debate is still raging on whether Tencent and Alibaba, developers of popular mobile apps WeChat and Alipay, respectively, have the right to infringe on users’ privacy, even after Tencent denied it stores users’ chat records, and Alibaba apologized for deceiving users into authorizing it to store their data. Do we need legislation to prevent illegal access to and misuse of people’s private information? Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily’s Zhang Zhouxiang. Excerpts follow: violate users’ rights and privacy. WeChat can access users’ daily chat records, while Alipay has our consumption records. If either set of information gets leaked, it could cause huge inconvenience to the users.

That’s why Alibaba and Tencent are obliged to strictly protect users’ privacy and rights. And before analyzing user’s data, the two companies should obtain users’ consent in a legal, proper way.

MA XUEJING / CHINA DAILY