The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) launched an investigation on the use of personal data by some internet companies, according to a statement published on the MIIT's website on Tuesday, signaling growing concern on privacy issues in China.
The move came in response to media reports and customer complaints of mobile apps randomly activating cameras on user phones, leaked user data being used in scams and excessive collection and misuse of user data, said the statement by the Cybersecurity Administration, which is under the ministry.
Chat and gaming company Tencent, travel agent Ctrip, video-streaming site iQiyi and dating app Tantan were among the companies singled out in the statement as involved in the investigation, in a rare mention of company names by public regulators.
"China is one of the world's leading internet powers now. Cybersecurity is a paramount concern, and data security is one of the pillars of cybersecurity," Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"The government is trying to get them to be more proactive about data protection," said Liu.
Upon preliminary inspection, MIIT summoned individuals responsible for cross-border e-commerce company yMatou.com and ordered the company to reform its operations to address pitfalls on its user protection systems.
