COVID-19 Patients Experience Bullying, China Imposes Rules For Deleting Personal Data

JAKARTA - The Chinese Government Council is drafting regulations regarding the deletion of personal data of local residents after the 60-day COVID-19 health emergency period as a consideration for the emergence of the case of a patient in Sichuan Province who was bullied.

As reported by Antara, Wednesday, December 16, the institution, which functions like the cabinet, will order an institution that has been collecting personal data to erase it within a certain time.

So far, the COVID-19 outbreak prevention and control authorities have collected personal data in one place where positive cases have been found.

The personal data includes residence identification numbers, cell phone numbers, and even face scans.

Several cities in China, especially Beijing, implement health codes in every public area, such as train stations, airports, shopping centers, places of worship, and public service agencies.

The health code is obtained by scanning the barcode via WeChat or Alipay, which contains personal data, such as name, telephone number, resident identification number, or passport number for foreigners, and track records in the last 14 days.

"The collection of personal data related to outbreak control is acceptable. However, after all efforts are completed, the data is no longer needed and should be deleted," said Prof. Zhu Wei of China University.

Collecting data in this way is accepted by the public, even though it is overshadowed by fears of abuse.

Last week, a woman surnamed Zhao in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, was the target of bullying after she and her grandfather tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday (8/12).

The 20-year-old woman often visits several places, such as bars and nightclubs in her city.

Her personal data and phone number were leaked and spread widely, so she received several calls and text messages containing social bullying.