The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) holds a remote discussion by video link in Beijing on Jan 10, focusing on strengthening the protection of personal information in the era of big data. [Photo/Xinhua]

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held a remote discussion by video link in Beijing on Jan 10, focusing on strengthening the protection of personal information in the era of big data. 

Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended and addressed the meeting. 

Wang emphasized the need to view personal information protection in the era of big data with a developmental vision and dialectical thinking. According to Wang, the country should stick to the people-oriented approach and adhere to the coordinated advancement of government supervision, industry self-discipline and social participation, effectively protecting information security while improving the level of information resource utilization, and making big data better serve society and benefit the people. 

Fourteen CPPCC members and experts participated in the meeting from five meeting rooms in Beijing as well as Liaoning, Anhui, Hunan and Guizhou provinces. Nearly 120 CPPCC members also expressed their opinions through computers or mobile phones. 

They affirmed the positive achievements that have been reached on personal information protection. However, it was agreed that there is still a long way to go to safeguard information security, as problems, including incomplete laws and regulations and traditional protection systems and methods not keeping up with the spread of the internet and the rapid development of the digital industry, are still prominent. 

Some suggested that it is necessary to expedite the introduction of personal information protection laws, intensify efforts to crack down on the illegal collection, trade, and use of personal information, strengthen the supervision of technology applications and publicize personal information security knowledge to enhance citizens' awareness of self-protection, as well as strengthen information sharing and overall coordination between government departments to establish a unified platform for the protection and supervision of personal information.