The Conflict And Balance Of Personal Credit Reporting And Information Rights Protection

Information asymmetry becomes a bottleneck restricting the economic development, and information exchange and communication is of urgent need. Credit reporting industry emerges at the right moment as an industry promoting information sharing. However, in recent years, as the information technology develops rapidly, incidents concerning the infringement of individual credit information rights, such as improper collection, misuse and disclosure of personal information, happen occasionally. Thus, it has given rise to the legal reflection on how to balance personal credit reporting and credit information rights protection.It is explicitly mentioned in the plan for national economic and social development approved in2013to accelerate social credit construction. At the same time, the guide of protecting personal information and the regulation about managing credit reporting industry have been carried out this year, which makes many regulations on protection of the rights and interests of the clients and the circulation of credit information. This article would take this opportunity to put forward some advice about personal credit reporting and credit information rights protection.By collecting and processing personal credit information, credit agencies provide information products for users. The individual credit collection can correct abuses to make information symmetry and reduce costs in the credit process. However, during the period of practicing, in order to raise efficiency we will ignore the protection of personal rights. In addition, the protection of personal rights will reduce efficiency of the credit industry. In fact, it contains a paradox about personal credit information rights protection and the efficiency of credit reporting. The paradox is actually the conflict between two economic law value concepts, namely order and freedom.The key points of this article is how to balance the two concepts.Making an analysis on the status quo of China’s personal credit reporting industry, including legal system, administrative supervision and industry self-regulation, we find out some pressing problems about legal loopholes and absence of supervision in balancing personal credit reporting and credit information rights protection. There is no proper legal system of credit reporting in personal credit reporting area. Practical difficulties exist in the information flow link. It is the administrative supervision instead of the industry self-regulation that dominates, and there is a lack of endogenous mechanism of protecting personal credit information rights.By now, international community has passed many regulations concerning issues such as information collection, use, and processing. Every country differs a lot in those methods to balance conflicts such as government supervision and legal regulations. The U.S. pays much attention to the role of information playing in the market economy, emphasizes the effective supply of credit information, and thus develops a decentralized legal system in which industry self-regulation plays an important role in regulating the development of credit reporting industry. Considering credit information rights as personality rights, the European Union develops generalized legislation mode based on personal data protection directive in order to protect personal credit information closely. Despite many differences, both U.S. mode and E.U. modes are developed based on their national conditions and practices.By analyzing foreign experience China should adopt the method to balance conflicts between personal credit information rights protection and the efficiency of credit reporting. Guided by interests balance principle, we establish an information sharing and opening mechanism based on personal credit information rights protection, which, in the legal level, brings personal credit rights into law framework and regulates the flow of personal credit information so as to perfect personal credit legal system and develop clear legal system. At the same time, the mechanism sets applicable limit on personal credit information rights to promote the sharing and use of information and sound development of personal credit reporting industry.