On September 5, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced that it had fined China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) RMB 50 million (approx. $6,825,491) for violations of the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and Cybersecurity Law (CSL), following an investigation.

Background to the decision

In particular, the CAC highlighted that, after verification, it had identified that the main operating entities of CNKI are three companies: Tongfang CNKI (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., Tongfang CNKI Digital Publishing Technology Co., Ltd., and 'China Academic Journals (CD Version)' Electronic Magazine Co., Ltd., launching an investigation into the handling of personal information by CNKI following a review by the Cybersecurity Review Office.

Findings of the CAC

Following its investigation, the CAC determined the following violations of the PIPL and CSL by the 14 mobile apps operated by CNKI, including:

• the collection of personal information without consent;
• the excessive collection of personal information beyond the stated purpose;
• the failure to make the privacy policy public;
• the failure to provide an account cancellation function; and
• the failure to delete users' personal information following the cancellation of user accounts.

Outcomes

Accordingly, the CAC imposed a fine of RMB 50,000,000 (approx. $6,825,491) for the aforementioned violations.

You can read the press release, only available in Chinese, here.