MIIT Identifies 334 Apps That Violated User Rights

On September 23, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) identified 334 apps that failed to comply with laws and regulations related to user rights protection. These apps include travel apps and food ordering apps.

In the announcement (link in Chinese), which is the 10th list of 2021, the MIIT identified 52 apps that have failed to rectify their misconduct that was found in violation of laws and regulations with regard to user rights after a given time period. The local agencies also identified 282 apps that have not completed the rectification within the time frame.

The identified apps include two major airplane service apps, China Southern Airlines and Spring Airlines, some travel apps such as Go fun travel and Shanghai Travel Card, as well as food ordering apps such as HEYTEA Go. These apps were found to be infringing user rights, including illegally collecting personal information, forcing users to receive targeted information delivery, and engaging in mandatory, frequent, and excessive requests for user permissions.

The 334 apps are required to bring their practices into compliance with the law before September 29. Otherwise, they may be removed from app stores.