Understanding the Impact of China’s Far Reaching New Cybersecurity Law
October 5, 2017
October 5, 2017
As the implementation of China’s first comprehensive cybersecurity law (the “CCL”) progresses, concern is mounting in the international business community regarding the law’s expansive scope, prescriptive requirements and lack of clarity on a range of critical issues.
Vocalizing such concern, on September 25, 2017, the United States government asked China to halt its implementation of the CCL and highlighted potential issues with the CCL to members of the World Trade Organization. Since the CCL’s passage, several regulations have been released by the principal agency responsible for its implementation that were intended to implement the provisions of the CCL, but in some cases appear to have further expanded its scope while leaving some critical questions unanswered. In the face of such uncertainties, foreign companies operating in China are advised to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the CCL and its implementation rules and adopt measures to enhance their preparedness for the full implementation of the CCL.
This alert memo was republished in the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal.