China is working on creating a new national data bureau that would unite the responsibilities currently shared by a number of agencies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The plans should be approved during the annual session of the National People’s Congress later this month, people familiar with the matter said.
The new agency will "rule on whether multinational companies can export data generated by their operations in China," according to the report. It will also decide what kind of information companies can collect from customers and protect Beijing's national security interests in data sharing with foreign partners. In addition, it will handle potential illegal actions such as data manipulation and investigate "data-security vulnerabilities that are prone to cyberattack," sources said.
