Don't Let Apps Turn into "Infringing Black Hands"
Dai Xianren
“As for what phone apps to push, just push whatever is being discussed.” “I'll receive a push notification the next second after I decide to buy something.” “If I look at Taobao, I'll get pushed on Weibo”…… In recent years, with the widespread use of mobile internet applications (APPs), complaints about "phone eavesdropping" have increased. “We all know there's an issue, but we don't know where to start or who to turn to for justice.” Shanghai municipal CPPCC member and lawyer at You Mingkai Law Firm said that in 2025, he submitted a proposal titled 《关于加强APP偷听、窥探用户隐私治理的建议》.
E-commerce platforms and businesses have been criticized for collecting personal information for a long time. For example, some e-commerce platforms record and use consumer browsing history to market products; others bind user input with "precise marketing," predicting users' interests based on their input content, and then launching targeted marketing campaigns; or store owners collect consumers' mobile phone numbers, portraits, etc., for marketing purposes, which is a common phenomenon. Platforms and businesses have become the ones who "understand you best," making consumers feel like they're being watched or listened to, not just empty words. The problem behind "precise marketing" often involves infringing on citizens' personal information.
Using consumers' personal information for "precise marketing" has turned their personal information into a "rich mine" coveted by criminals and the black market, or a "monk's meat" that all want to get. E-commerce platforms and APPs use their vast user data to launch targeted ads and conduct precise marketing, or excessively collect users' personal information, and some even sell citizens' personal information.
In recent years, as relevant laws and regulations have taken effect and improved, like the legal framework for personal information protection becoming more complete, relevant departments have also strengthened their supervision of mobile applications. Mobile applications now have clear guidelines for collecting and using personal information during this process. As for APPs, app stores are even more strict in reviewing them before launching. This has led to a significant decrease in cases of illegal collection of personal information.
However, there are still many APPs that exist "illegally collecting personal information." Many consumers' legitimate rights and interests are still being harmed. Lawyer You Mingkai's proposal is worth considering. He suggests that regulatory authorities increase their oversight efforts before, during, and after the fact, including registration, random inspections, and delegating third-party audits to assess violators. The goal is to further increase the punishment for infringing on users' personal information, forming a long-term, continuous, and comprehensive monitoring system to raise the cost of illegal behavior for rogue APPs, making them unprofitable, and ultimately eliminating "infringing user personal information" once and for all.
Consumers also need to enhance their awareness of rights and personal information protection, not sacrificing their privacy for temporary convenience. Against infringing on their legitimate interests, they should adopt a zero-tolerance approach, exercise their right to seek justice through law, and use their feet to vote. The goal is to form a joint effort among all parties to thoroughly cut off e-commerce platforms, rogue APPs, and businesses from reaching out to users' personal information like "black hands," cover up their "watchful eyes" and "listening ears," and seal every possible loophole in order to create a strong barrier to protect citizens' personal information and give users' personal information proper "clothing."
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author.