China: Issued MIIT Notice for apps infringing user rights and interests in August 2024

On 27 August 2024, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIT) issued an order listing 21 apps and SDKs that were found to commit user rights violations. The published list includes 'Quanxin Accounting', 'Snake Duel', 'Mengmeng Accounting', 'Happy Double Stress Relief', 'Tomato Accounting Book', and 'Jiutun Android Ad SDK'. The government instructed a third party to conduct an investigation on the listed apps and SDKs. 21 apps and SDKs were found to breach the Personal Information Protection Law, the Network Security Law, the Telecommunications Regulations and the Regulations on the Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunications and Internet Users. The violations involved issues such as illegal and excessive collection of personal information and misleading redirections to other windows. The government has ordered these apps to rectify their practices according to the regulation. Failure to comply will result in further legal action.