MIIT Reports 84 Apps Infringing on Rights of Users

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently organized a third-party testing agency to inspect mobile applications and put forward rectification requirements for 368 apps found to have infringed on users’ rights and interests. As of Wednesday, the date of the ministry’s announcement, there are still 84 apps that have not been rectified.

The 84 apps cover many fields such as shopping, office, games, social interaction, among others, and there are a variety of grocery group buying programs such as Missfresh, Bianlifeng, Pincai Network and Fruitday.

In addition to the grocery shopping software, there are also office learning software programs such as Shimo Documents, Offcn, as well as entertainment and social software such as JJ Doudizhu and Jiayuan.

The problems the companies on the list face mainly include collecting personal information beyond the necessary scope, asking for excessive permissions, deceiving and misleading users, and other infringements. According to MIIT, the above apps should be rectified before June 8. On Wednesday afternoon, Missfresh responded that it would actively implement the rectification.

In fact, in 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China, MIIT and other departments jointly issued a document, which established the scope of necessary personal information to be collected by various types of apps.

SEE ALSO: Some Chinese Apps Allow Users to Easily Close “Personalize Recommendations”

According to the report released by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team (CNCERT) last year, the problem of compulsory collection of non-essential personal information has been significantly reduced, but seven types of hidden issues still need to be closely monitored, such as request for permission and collection methods beyond the necessary scope.