Success in efforts to protect personal data

China’s efforts to better protect people’s personal information resulted in a rapid rise in the number of lawsuits last year, according to the work reports of the country’s top judicial authorities.

Prosecutors nationwide charged 3,436 people with harming people’s personality rights — breaches against people’s right to privacy or reputations — for example through online defamation or misuse of people’s personal information.

The figure represented a 51.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate work report.

The report was submitted on March 8 to the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, for review.

“The internet space is virtual, but the rule of law must be concrete,” Procurator-General Zhang Jun said while delivering the report.