Shanghai’s cyberspace affairs administration has summoned meetings with 23 companies running apps that have been found requesting excessive access to personal user information. A recent review of the 23 popular apps, mostly on Android, found that almost all had asked for user information beyond the necessary level. The administration has urged the companies to “conduct self-checks and corrections” and plans further random reviews in the future. The administration determined that about 30% of apps demanded user permissions unrelated to a potential service, which could lead to misuse of personal data. Together the 23 apps demanded a total of 864 user permissions, among which 444 were thought reasonable, 264 were deemed unnecessary, and 156 were reasonable but with risks, according to the administration.

Shanghai urged app providers to abide by laws and regulations, and to collect and exploit user information on the principles of “legal, fair and necessary.” The 23 enterprises were ordered to revoke unreasonable permissions, improve data security, and prevent infringement on personal information.

Source; Encs.cn