Personal Information Protection: China’s Path Choice

Abstract

Under the background of data as means of production, it is the goal of the world powers to protect personal information comprehensively and effectively. Although the appellation of “personal information” is not exactly the same due to different legal traditions and customs, its substantive content is similar or even the same. In both civil law countries and common law countries, the definition of personal information tends to converge, with “identifiability” as its core component. Unlike the United States and European Union countries, China’s Civil Code does not adopt a “right-based mode” to protect personal information, but chooses a unique “legal interest protection mode”, demonstrating that natural persons enjoy their personal information as personality interests rather than property interests. They are civil interests independent of the right to privacy, and are civil interests protected by law rather than a separate right. In the future, China should set up special supervision and management institutions, and the criterion for judging the facts of damage should be appropriately relaxed to strengthen the private law protection of personal information.