China central bank issues draft rules on its data security management

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s central bank issued draft rules on data security management for the bank’s own operations on Monday, as Beijing tightens its grip on data usage and security amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns about privacy.

The People’s Bank of China is soliciting public opinions on the draft guidelines through Aug. 24.

The central bank will establish a system of accountability for data security and also punitive measures for violations, seeking to manage all data processing activities, according to the rules.

Under the rules, the central bank’s data collected within the country, if required by law, will be stored domestically, and data processors are banned from splitting or reducing the size of the data to avert official security checks when the data is exported.

Last July, China unveiled cross-border data review measures that require a security review for “important” offshore data transfers – a move that caused confusion and raised concerns among foreign financial firms operating in the country.