Research On The Protection Of Sensitive Personal Information

With the advent of the big data era,the collection and utilization of personal information have become an inevitable part of daily life,and the protection of sensitive personal information has attracted increasing attention.The "Personal Information Protection Law" promulgated in2021 has improved China’s legal system for personal information protection,but there are still certain issues in practice regarding the protection of sensitive personal information,which has attracted widespread attention from academia and practitioners.Therefore,this article aims to explore the current status and existing problems of legal protection of sensitive personal information in China and put forward some suggestions for improvement.The full text is divided into seven parts.The first part is the introduction.Starting from the existing personal information protection laws,it introduces the research status of sensitive personal information protection in China,the research focus,and methodology of this article.The second part is an overview of sensitive personal information.It mainly introduces the concept,elements,and types of sensitive personal information and summarizes the value and significance of protecting sensitive personal information.The third part examines sensitive personal information leakage cases in various countries,analyzes the reasons for sensitive personal information leakage,and preliminarily summarizes the existing problems in the protection of sensitive personal information in practice.The fourth part refines and points out the theoretical and practical problems in the protection of sensitive personal information.These mainly include deficiencies in the legal protection of sensitive personal information,industry infringement of sensitive personal information,and insufficient remedies for sensitive personal information infringement.These issues all require effective institutional regulation and practical solutions,but have not yet received sufficient theoretical responses from academia and need further research.The fifth part summarizes the definition standards,processing principles,and infringement handling standards of sensitive personal information protection in countries such as the United States,Germany,the European Union,and Japan through legal protection and practical investigations.These experiences provide references and reflections for China’s protection of sensitive personal information.The sixth part is a theoretical reflection on the controversial issues of sensitive personal information protection.Based on comparative law research and empirical studies,it is suggested to improve the definition and legal competition issues by introducing a "scenario theory" definition model,supporting the cross-overlapping theory of sensitive personal information,etc.Industry self-regulation can be built through formulating policies to implement informed consent rules,scientifically specifying information processing purposes,and using data encryption and anonymization technologies to prevent industry vulnerabilities.The handling rules for sensitive personal information infringement can be improved by focusing on the confirmation of infringement losses and expanding the scope of damage compensation.The seventh part presents suggestions for improving sensitive personal information protection.Legal protection rules for sensitive personal information can be improved by constructing a "scenario theory" and coordinating the relationship between sensitive personal information and private information.Industry self-regulation for sensitive personal information protection can be built by formulating policies to implement informed consent rules,scientifically specifying information processing purposes,and other methods.Public interest litigation can broaden relief channels,increase compensation for mental distress,adjust relief scope,and adopt stricter liability principles to ensure the safety of sensitive personal information,protect citizens’ privacy rights and information security,and promote the sustainable development of the digital economy.