Data Protection And Cybersecurity Alert: Explore The Highlights Of The Amended Counterespionage Law

On 26 April 2023, the newly amended Counterespionage Law of the People's Republic of China ("Counterespionage Law" or "New Law") was passed and will come into force on 1 July this year. Notably, the New Law introduces for the first time the concept of illegal provision of specific "data" in specific espionage activities and extends from traditional territorial security to include cyber and technological security. With the enactment of the New Law and the intensive enforcement activities, the risk of espionage violation is accumulating particularly for foreign businesses active in China with sensitive data.

Espionage violations were originally provided in the State Security Law of the People's Republic of China (1993), until the Counterespionage Law was adopted in 2014 to specifically define what the activities of espionage are. At present, the central government of China perceives the situation of counterespionage as increasingly severe and that