本文阐述了《网络安全法》、滴滴优步案、快播案，以及中国对网络借贷、互联网搜索和电子商务方面的最新政策。

——文章来源于《中国法律商务2016-2017年回顾》

This article analyzes the Cybersecurity Law, Didi-Uber deal, QVOD case, and China’s new policies for P2P lending, online search and e-commerce.

--The article was published in China Law and Practice Annual Review 2016-2017

2016年中国的TMT行业十分活跃，有很多值得关注的内容。

在网络安全和个人信息保护、互联网搜索和互联网广告、互联网金融、网约车、视频、网络出版、以及电商等各个细分领域，几乎都出现了社会热点事件。这些社会热点事件不仅凸显了中国在TMT领域面临的新问题、新挑战，在一定程度上也催生或加速了一系列法律法规政策的出台。

其中，最引人关注或许也是影响最深远的当属2016 年11 月7 日颁布的《中华人民共和国网络安全法》（“《网络安全法 》”）。

The TMT industry has been particularly active in China throughout 2016. Almost all sub-sectors—such as cybersecurity and protection of personal information, internet search and advertising, internet finance, online car hailing, video, online publishing and e-commerce—have witnessed incidents that drew public attention. These events not only highlight the new issues and challenges that China faces in the TMT sector, but, to a certain extent, also prompted or accelerated a series of laws, regulations and policies to be formulated. Among these, the one that has drawn the most attention and will possibly have the most far-reaching impact is the promulgation of the PRC Cybersecurity Law on November 7, 2016.

2016年11月7日，中国颁布《网络安全法》，从法律层面确立了网络安全等级保护制度、关键信息基础设施重点保护制度和用户个人信息保护制度。

需要说明的是，网络安全等级保护制度并非《网络安全法》的首创，在《网络安全法》颁布前，中国已经颁布了有关信息安全等级保护制度的法规、政策。

关键信息基础设施重点保护制度引起了外资企业的广泛关注甚至忧虑，在有关细则出台之前，企业应提前做好规划和技术准备。

个人信息保护方面，今年8月发生的在校大学生因电信诈骗死亡的“徐玉玉事件”或许加速了中国针对公民个人信息保护的立法进程。《网络安全法》专设“网络信息安全”一章规范公民个人信息的网络保护。但是，第42条规定，个人信息“经过处理无法识别特定个人且不能复原的除外”。这一例外规定被广泛解读为立法机关为目前迅速发展的大数据应用留下了发展空间。

需要注意的是，上述例外规定仅针对信息的“使用”，并未豁免企业在“收集”个人信息时的合规要求。

The Cybersecurity Law establishes at the central level a system of stratified cybersecurity protection, critical information infrastructure protection and user information protection. It should be stated that the concept of layered protection is not an invention of the Cybersecurity Law, as regulations and policies relating to this system had previously been issued in China. The enhanced protection of critical information infrastructure put forward has drawn the attention of, and even raised anxiety among, foreign-invested enterprises. Enterprises are advised to duly carry out planning and technical preparation in advance of the issuance of relevant detailed rules. In terms of personal information protection, the “Xu Yuyu Incident” that occurred in August this year, in which a university student died following phone fraud, perhaps accelerated the progress for legislation protecting the personal information of citizens. The Cybersecurity Law contains a part dedicated to regulating the online protection of citizens’ personal data, but with the rider in Article 42: “except in the case where the personal information has been processed such that the specific individual is anonymized and the same is unrestorable”. This exception has been widely interpreted as the legislators leaving space for the current rapid development of big data application. It should be noted that the exception is limited to “use” of the information and does not exempt enterprises from the compliance requirements for “collecting” personal information.

2016年，在校大学生魏则西因受百度付费搜索信息误导，前往武警北京总队第二医院治疗，最终医治无效死亡。这一事件再次引发社会及相关监管机构对饱受批评的百度竞价排名的关注。

或许是受这一事件推动，2016年6月25日，国家互联网信息办公室颁布了《互联网信息搜索服务管理规定》，要求搜索结果必须客观、公正、权威；搜索平台应当依法查验客户有关资质。

随后，国家工商总局于2016年7月4日颁布了《互联网广告管理暂行办法》，明确了付费搜索的互联网广告属性，需显著标明“广告”字样。

In 2016, a university student, Wei Zexi, misled by Baidu’s paid search results, went to the No.2 Hospital of the Beijing Armed Police Corps for medical treatment, which proved ineffective, leading to his death. This incident again drew the attention of the public and relevant regulators to Baidu’s severely criticized paid-ranking search results.

Perhaps spurred by this incident, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) promulgated the Provisions for the Administration of Internet Information Search Services on June 25, 2016, requiring that search results be objective, impartial and authoritative; and that search platforms verify the relevant qualifications of customers in accordance with the law. Subsequently, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce promulgated the Tentative Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising on July 4, 2016, clarifying that paid search constitutes online advertising and requiring that such search results be prominently tagged with the word “advertisement”.

2015年底，全国最大的互联网融资租赁平台e租宝因非法集资被检察机关立案侦查。或许是受网络借贷行业乱象和社会热点事件的推动，2016年8月17日，银监会、工信部、公安部以及网信办联合发布《网络借贷信息中介机构业务活动管理暂行办法》， 率先从P2P网络借贷领域开始了对互联网金融行业的监管。

2016年10月13日，国务院办公厅公开发布《互联网金融风险专项整治工作实施方案》。同日，央行、证监会、银监会、保监会等十余个部门联合抛出了六个细分实施方案。

这些方案分别对应非银行支付机构、P2P网络借贷、股权众筹、互联网保险、互联网资产管理和互联网广告及理财等重点领域进行整治。中国对互联网金融行业经历了监管缺失到过度监管的过程。

At the end of 2015, the procuratorial authorities opened a case against, and began investigating, Ezubao, the largest internet financial leasing platform in the country, for illegal fundraising. Also driven by the chaotic state of the P2P lending industry and other hotly debated incidents, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Public Security and the CAC jointly promulgated the Tentative Measures for the Administration of the Business Activities of Peer-to-peer Lending Information Intermediaries on August 17, 2016, commencing the regulation of the internet finance industry—starting with the P2P lending sector.

On October 13, 2016, the General Office of the State Council promulgated the Implementing Plan for the Dedicated Campaign for Rectifying Internet Financial Risks. On the same day, more than 10 authorities, including the People’s Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, CBRC and China Insurance Regulatory Commission released six implementing plans, aimed at rectifying key sectors such as non-bank payment institutions, P2P lending, equity crowd-funding, internet insurance, internet asset management and internet advertising and wealth management, respectively. In a span of a few months this year, China has gone from under-regulation of the internet finance industry to over-regulation.

2016年7月27日，包括交通部在内的七部门联合颁布《网络预约出租汽车经营服务管理暂行办法》。 2016年10月，北京、上海、深圳、广州、兰州等地相继发布网约车管理细则征求意见稿。

这些征求意见稿中不约而同地对网约车平台的运营车辆和人员进行了严格规定，例如颇具争议的本地户籍和本地车牌要求。

值得注意的是，“滴滴出行”、“优步”平台搜集了海量的中国用户出行、支付等大数据信息。新规体现了中国对用户人身和财产安全、对国家信息安全与数据隐私的保护与警觉。

总的来说，虽然网约车获得了合法地位，但其发展空间受到了抑制。

On July 27, 2016, seven authorities, including the Ministry of Transport, jointly promulgated the Tentative Measures for the Administration of Online Car Hailing Services. In October 2016, regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Lanzhou and other cities successively issued draft implementing rules for comments. These drafts all set forth strict provisions on the operating vehicles and persons of these car hailing platforms, for instance, the much debated requirements with respect to the possession of local household registration and local car plates.

The ride hailing platforms of Didi Chuxing and Uber have collected a vast quantity of big data from Chinese users, such as their travel and payment patterns. The new regulations reflect China’s protection of, and vigilance toward, the safety of the users and their property, as well as state information security and data privacy. On the whole, although online car hailing has secured lawful status, its space for development has been cramped.

2016年8月1日，“滴滴出行”高调宣布与“优步”达成战略协议，“滴滴出行”将收购“优步中国”。

然而，双方在宣布合并前并未向商务部进行经营者集中申报。在“滴滴出行”和“优步中国”宣布合并后不久，商务部宣布对“滴滴出行”“优步中国”合并案开展反垄断调查。

这个并购案的特点在于商务部主动对VIE架构的企业进行反垄断调查。此前，商务部从未对VIE架构企业的反垄断问题作出过正面回应。

的确，VIE架构的合法性与否和国家对竞争秩序的调整没有必然联系。从没有正面回应到主动调查这一转变，体现了商务部对互联网行业的竞争秩序加强规制、积极监管的趋势。

On August 1, 2016, Didi Chuxing announced with great fanfare that it had reached a strategic agreement with Uber under which it would acquire Uber’s China operations. However, before the announcement of the merger, neither party made a filing of business operator concentration with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Shortly after Didi and Uber China announced their merger, MOFCOM proclaimed that it was launching an anti-monopoly investigation into the deal.

The particular feature of this acquisition lies in MOFCOM’s initiative to launch an anti-monopoly investigation of an enterprise organized under a variable interest entity (VIE) structure. MOFCOM had never directly  responded toward the anti-monopoly issue involving VIE-structured enterprises. It is true that there is no necessary connection between the lawfulness of a VIE structure and the state’s regulation of the competition order. The change from having no direct response to investigation at its own initiative reflects MOFCOM’s enhanced regulation and active oversight of competition in the internet industry.

2016年9月13日，深圳市快播科技有限公司（“快播”）涉嫌传播淫秽物品牟利一案（“快播案”）在北京市海淀区法院宣判，快播公司及其法定代表人犯传播淫秽物品牟利罪。

快播案体现的法律问题是，网络服务商在什么情况下、在多大程度上应对通过其传播的内容负责。快播案最终以公司和法定代表人定罪告终。

另外，快播案的庭审通过微博全程直播，公诉机关在庭审中暴露出对新兴技术领域办案经验不足的问题。

On September 13, 2016, the court of Haidian District, Beijing pronounced its verdict in the case involving Shenzhen QVOD Technology Co., Ltd. (QVOD), finding QVOD and its legal representative guilty of the crime of disseminating obscene materials for profit. The legal issues manifested by the QVOD case are the circumstances under and the extent to which an online service provider is liable for content disseminated through its platform. The QVOD case ultimately ended with QVOD and its legal representative being convicted. Furthermore, the trial hearings of the QVOD case were carried out live in their entirety on Weibo, where the public prosecution office revealed the problem of its insufficient experience in the handling of cases involving emerging technology sectors.

2016年2月4日，广电总局与工信部联合发布《网络出版服务管理规定》，对“网络出版服务”以及“网络出版物”这两个重要概念进行了定义。

该规定对于开设微博、微信公众号等所谓“自媒体”的个人或机构没有特别说明。从法律条文看，不能排除自媒体运营主体需要获得《网络出版服务许可证》的可能。

但依据官方解释，自媒体运营主体属于信息内容的创作者或生产者，而不是网络信息服务提供者。

On February 4, 2016, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Provisions for the Administration of Online Publication Services (Provisions), defining the two important concepts of “online publication service” and “online publication”. The Provisions do not provide any special explanations with respect to individuals and organizations engaging in so-called “We Media” such as Weibo and WeChat. The Provisions do not exclude the possibility that We Media subjects are required to secure an Online Publication Service Permit. However, based on official interpretation, We Media operating subjects are information content creators or producers, not online information service providers.

2015年中国密集出台法规政策放开电商领域的外资准入门槛，将“在线数据处理与交易处理（经营类电子商务）”的外资比例逐步扩大到100%。

然而，实践中，由于经营类电子商务属于增值电信业务，外资在进入增值电信业务方面的限制条件并未出现明显松动。

2016年，工信部和上海自贸区只颁发了极少数纯外资经营类电子商务牌照。中国在外商投资经营类电子商务方面在实践中仍然态度谨慎。

The closely spaced series of regulations and policies issued in 2015 relaxed the threshold for foreign investment access to the e-commerce sector, gradually increasing the foreign shareholding percentage in “online data processing and transaction processing (for-profit e-commerce)” to 100%. However, in practice, as for-profit e-commerce is classified as a value-added telecommunications service (VATS), there has not been any obvious relaxation in the conditions restricting the entry of foreign investment into VATS. In 2016, the MIIT and the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone only issued a minimal number of purely wholly foreign-owned for-profit e-commerce licenses. China is, in practice, still taking a cautious attitude toward foreign investment in for-profit e-commerce.

在跨境电商方面，2016年中国颁布了一系列规制跨境电子商务的法规政策。总的监管思路是将跨境电商按照一般贸易管理。

由于跨境电商新政的出台十分突然，跨境电子商务企业无法立即调整其业务以适应新的监管要求。

总体来看，跨境电商新政的出台经历了摸索和调整的过程，目前难以判断是否对行业长期利好。

China issued a series of regulations and policies regulating cross-border e-commerce in 2016. The overarching regulatory philosophy is to administrate cross-border e-commerce as general trade. Because these new policies were released so suddenly, cross-border e-commerce enterprises have not been able to immediately adjust their businesses to meet the new regulatory requirements. On the whole, the legal framework for cross-border e-commerce has undergone a process of exploration and fine-tuning, so it is still too early to tell whether they will be beneficial to the industry in the long run.