Starwood data hack shows need for China to explore class-action lawsuits

INTERNATIONAL HOTEL CHAIN MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL disclosed on Friday that the guest reservation database of its Starwood properties had been hacked. A few hours later consumer class-action lawsuits were filed. Beijing News comments:

The security breach is believed to have compromised the information of as many as 500 million guests, exposing in some cases credit card numbers, passport numbers and birthdates.

According to Marriott International’s statement on its official website, Marriott found unauthorized access to the Starwood network had taken place as early as in 2014. But the company knew nothing about it until Sept 8 this year when it received an alert about an attempt to access the Starwood guest reservation database.

It reflects that Marriott has serious weakness in protecting the guests’ personal information, which means it may face a huge fine.

Marriott International claimed that it has reported to law enforcement and would cooperate with the investigation of this cyberattack incident. Based on the strict legal protection of privacy in the United States, the company may face severe punishment because of the personal information leak.

Marriott International’s business extends to the US and 67 other countries and regions. But according to media reports, Marriott International said whether this cyberattack incident involves Starwood properties in China is still under investigation.

In the US, if a major corporation’s misconduct causes a loss to the public, a law firm will contact the victims and file a class-action lawsuit on their behalf. The victims only need to sign an authorization to authorize the lawsuit’s class representatives to deal with the legal matters.

Although the Civil Procedure Law in China also stipulates class-action lawsuits, in reality there are few large-scale class-action lawsuits except in the securities field. In general judiciary authorities are very cautious about class-action lawsuits.

If a cyberattack that results in guest personal information leak takes place in China, it is still not clear how the victims could safeguard their rights. That’s part of the reason why foreign companies take different attitudes to foreign and Chinese consumers after serious incidents that undermine consumer interests are exposed.

We should learn from the successful experience of class-action lawsuits in foreign countries, in order to safeguard the Chinese consumers’ rights and interests.

The agreement is significant as it will ease the trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies and boost confidence in global economic growth.

Although what the two leaders have agreed on is only a suspension of any new tariffs, that marks progress. The two heads of state have instructed the economic and trade teams of both sides to intensify consultations and reach an agreement to cancel the tariffs already imposed this year.

It is mutually beneficial for China and the United States to ease their trade tensions. The current fierce competition between the two countries stems from China’s rising national strength driven by its fast economic growth and the zero-sum thinking of some people in the US. There are some people in the US who want to use the trade war and other means to force China to make concessions, hindering China’s economic transformation and industrial upgrading driven by innovation and technology.

Yet their dream will only end up as an illusion because China, unlike the countries that are allies of the US, is a sovereign country with full independence, and it will not submit to the US’ interests.

Besides, unlike the Soviet Union, which was the US’ competitor during the Cold War, China has better comprehensive capabilities that will enable it to withstand the US pressure.

The contradictions between China and the US are unlikely to be quickly resolved. Indeed, the competition between China and the US in new technologies such as 5G networks will continue.

So while it is good news that they are suspending tariffs, that is not an end to their frictions, which will still exist in such fields as market access, intellectual property rights and technology transfer.