China has just passed a major data-privacy law.
Inspired by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) comprises a far-reaching set of rules governing how tech companies handle user data. And, on the surface, it seems pretty tough: in fact, The Wall Street Journal hailed the PIPL as “one of the world’s strictest data-privacy laws.”
But it will probably do less to protect Chinese users than many believe, and it might even entrench further the dominance of China’s incumbent tech giants.