Thread by @kendraschaefer

Mixed feelings on the WSJ's latest piece of Chinese data policy. On one hand, think they did a good job of touching on key points. On the other hand, the nuance gets lost in the ominous overtones and they end up kind of missing the bigger picture. wsj.com/articles/china…

Example - here's what the article says: "[China] recently issued a draft rule that would forbid electric-car makers from transferring outside China any information collected from users on China’s roads and highways."

Here's what the actual policy says: "Article 12: Personal information or important data shall be stored within [China] according to law. If it is necessary to provide it outside the territory, an outbound data security assessment ... shall be undertaken."

My point is: 1) There are built-in mechanisms for allowing the outbound transfer of data where necessary. How that will play out in practice is unknown, but the regs didn't put a blanket ban on outbound data.

2) The law already required companies to store personal and "important data" in China, but companies have been uncertain about which data exactly was restricted. The new regs clarify the scope of sensitive data for the auto sector. WRT clarity, that is a positive development.

The bigger picture: China is trying to determine which data is sensitive and should be regulated and restricted, *and also* which data is *not* sensitive and can be allowed to circulate freely.

The restrictions will, as the article mentions, increase burdens on foreign companies, and there will likely be a rough transition period. But the flip side is that once it's clear which data is not restricted, companies will be freed up to leverage that data.

Another point - read the rest of the auto data policy. Actually read it. (English translation by @DigiChn below) The majority of the text focuses on consumer data protection, not government data control. digichina.stanford.edu/news/translati…

Not saying that gov control isn't a goal here. It is. But there is also a strong push to prevent companies from over-collecting personal info. We applaud this in EU regulations. We demand it in US regs. We focus only on the negatives when China does it. Balance, please.