The Regulations, which took effect on January 1, 2025, reiterate and clarify existing requirements and introduce new ones on privacy and network data security.
By Hui Xu and Bianca H. Lee
On September 30, 2024, the PRC State Council released the finalized Regulations on Network Data Security Management (Regulations), concluding a three-year consultation process since the initial draft in 2021.
The Regulations took effect January 1, 2025, and build upon the Cybersecurity Law (CSL), Data Security Law (DSL), and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which form China’s legal framework for data protection and security. The Regulations integrate common cybersecurity requirements from these laws, applying them to “network data processing activities,” which include all electronic data processed through networks.

On August 30, 2022, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data of Hong Kong (PCPD) issued a Guidance Note on Data Security Measures for Information and Communications Technology (the Guidance Note).
On July 3, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) issued the draft Data Security Law (DSL) for public comment. Once finalized, the DSL, together with the PRC Network Security Law and the proposed PRC Personal Information Protection Law, will form an increasingly comprehensive legal framework for information and data security. 