Survey shows 92 percent of respondents worried about information security

BEIJING -- According to a new survey, 92 percent of respondents were worried about the security of their personal information, China Youth Daily reported Tuesday.

The survey was based on answers from 2,024 respondents.

A total of 84.5 percent said they had been required to make their personal information accessible to companies when downloading apps, and 67 percent believed that some app producers were arbitrarily collecting users' information.

More than 80 percent of the respondents said they had received unwanted calls or messages after registering on certain platforms.

"My information must have been leaked by the official website of an English language examination because I have been receiving calls from study abroad service agencies since registering for the exam," said Yao Yao, a 23- year old university student.

Analyst Xiong Ran said that some service providers and platforms failed to abide by the non-disclosure agreement in user protocols and sold users' information to others, while some users ignored ways to protect their information.

"User information is used by some entities to spread targeted advertisements," said Zhu Wei, an associate professor with China University of Political Science and Law who studies communication law. "Many companies do not yet have personnel to protect users' privacy, and the source of the leaks can't be tracked so far."

Zhu called on legislators to stipulate a specific law on personal information protection, and give a detailed interpretation of relevant parts of the internet security law, and the law on protecting consumer rights and interests.