New cyber law in China stirs alarm

New cyber law in China stirs alarm

June 1, 2017, The Hill

Yan Luo is quoted by The Hill in an article regarding some of the uncertainties surrounding China's new Cybersecurity Law. Under the new law, cross-border data transfers for operators of "critical information infrastructure" are subject to security reviews and restrictions. According to Luo, "We don’t really have a definition of critical information infrastructure. We assume … this will be a very selective group of companies that operate in key sectors in China.” She adds, "The concern is really that the scope of the Chinese security review might be too broad and obviously there are concerns of the [potential] abuse of this process. The most common concern is: How do we know that my products or services will trigger this requirement?”  

Luo also states, "This is not certain, but we know there are ongoing efforts to draft regulations which may offer more practical guidance on who might be the operators of [critical information infrastructure]."