Many businesses in China will have to seek approvals from Chinese authorities before transferring data abroad, according to rules released this week, part of a growing suite of regulations Beijing has introduced to tighten control over data in the country, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The rules on cross-border data transfer—published by China’s internet regulator on Thursday and effective on September 1—will likely increase compliance costs for businesses and push more multinationals to store data in the country, legal experts say. They follow a draft released in October, and clarify procedures for data generated in China to be shipped to or accessed from overseas.
“Critical information infrastructure operators”—companies processing data for key industries such as telecommunications, defense, energy and finance—must pass a security review by the Cyberspace Administration of China before they can transfer personal data abroad, according to the rules.