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ARTICLE · 18 FEBRUARY 2026

China Data Privacy And Cybersecurity: 2025 Year In Review

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In 2025, China took several notable steps to strengthen its data privacy and cybersecurity regulatory framework, finalizing compliance audit requirements, operationalizing the cross-border data transfer certification regime, and ...

ChinaPrivacy
John Tan
John Tan
Sheena Thomas
Sheena Thomas
Siyi Gu
Siyi Gu
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In 2025, China took several notable steps to strengthen its data privacy and cybersecurity regulatory framework, finalizing compliance audit requirements, operationalizing the cross-border data transfer certification regime, and amending the Cybersecurity Law to increase penalties and expand its extraterritorial reach.

This Advisory highlights the key developments and their practical implications for companies operating in or handling data from China.

Legislative & Regulatory Developments

1. Personal Information Protection Compliance Audit Requirements

On February 12, 2025, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC, 国家互联网信息办公室) issued the Measures for the Administration of Compliance Audits on Personal Information Protection (Audit Measures, 个人信息保护合规审计管理办法), which took effect on May 1, 2025. The Audit Measures require data processors (akin to controllers under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to assess and quantify the scale of

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