Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 11, 2021

 

The Package of Personal Information Rights Seen from the Perspective of State Protection

(Abstract)

 

Wang Xixin

 

The package of personal information rights refers to a set of rights belonging to the subject of personal information, including the right to know, decide, inquire, correct, copy, delete, etc. Such a package of rights is usually understood in civil rights legal circles in China as a civil right falling under the paradigm of individual autonomy and control, and is interpreted as a specific right to personal information. This understanding somewhat misinterprets the nature and function of the package of personal information rights. In terms of nature, the package of personal information rights is the outcome of the state’s obligation to actively protect and empower individuals through institutional safeguards, and is thus essentially a means and tool of protection granted to individuals by the state under the concept of “protective law.” From a functional point of view, the package of personal information rights is both a tool for individuals to check and balance information processors and a strategy for the state to regulate data processors. Understanding the nature and functions of the package of rights from the perspective of state protection and regulation strategies helps to construct a more fair, transparent and rational order of public law data governance under the concept of “protective law” and promotes the structural optimization and capacity enhancement of the data governance system. As an instrumental right under the state’s regulatory strategy, the implementation of the package of personal information rights needs to focus on facilitating the individual’s knowledge, participation and ability to negotiate under procedural justice, as well as the reasonable allocation of rights and obligations between individuals and information processors under distributive justice, so as to continuously develop and enhance the state’s regulatory rationality.