China's New Cross-Border Data Transfer Rules Substantially Reduce Compliance Burdens For Multinational Employers

Multinational employers operating in China have been waiting since September 2023 for the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to finalize proposed revisions to its complex and burdensome rules for cross-border data transfers. Relief arrived on March 22, 2024, when the CAC published the "Provisions on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flows" (the "Approved Provisions"), which went into effect on the same day. The Approved Provisions adopt three key changes, first proposed in September 2023, to the CAC's original cross-border data transfer rules, which were published in February 2023. While these changes will substantially reduce multinational employers' compliance burdens when transferring human resources (HR) data and business contact information (BCI) out of China, the changes do not eliminate all compliance obligations. In this ASAP, we will explain the new, burden-reducing exemptions and describe the compliance obligations that remain in effect.