No pussyfooting enforcing app regulation to protect consumers

On Thursday, the Ministry of Internet and Information Technology ordered app stores to remove 90 mobile phone applications because they infringed on the rights and interests of users.

These infringements included excessive collection of personal information, forcing users to accept pushed notifications and misleading them into downloading the apps.

In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said that an examination and review by a third-party inspector found that 85 of the 93 apps instructed to make rectifications had failed to complete the work.

The direct removal of the apps including many well-known apps such as the travel app Tuniu, careers platform Maimai, knowledge-sharing community Tianya and music tutor VIP Peilian, demonstrates the ministry’s determination to put an end to the practices, as there have been repeated violations of regulations in different versions of the apps.

Many of the apps have been so commonly collecting personal information in illegal ways that complaints against them can be seen on social networks every day.

In order to evade their legal responsibilities, many app developers introduce long scrolls of smallprint text that requires the user to click on “I agree” at the end before they can use the app, or refuse to tell the users about the actual information the app collects when used. Sometimes personal information of a user is collected without the user being informed at all.

According to a China Consumers Association report released in 2018, over 90 percent of apps collect personal information that far exceeds their needs. It is of key importance to protect users’ information and prevent them from becoming “naked” in the face of the app developers.

In March, the Cyberspace Administration of China together with three other departments jointly issued a regulation that clearly defined what kind of personal information apps could collect. For example, a navigation app can only collect the position, starting point and end point of the user’s trip, while online payment apps can only collect the names, phone numbers, bank account and ID numbers of users.

That regulation came into effect on May 1, and the MIIT’s move this time shows it is a regulation with teeth.

The move sends a warning to the whole app industry not to violate users’ rights. Apps now play such an important role in daily life that one can hardly imagine spending one day without them. It is of the utmost importance to properly regulate apps so that users get their deserved protection.