China: Automated Decision-Making Rules under the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) of the People's Republic of China is a comprehensive national data privacy statute that regulates the handling of personal information, including the use of automated decision-making technologies. In the workplace context, PIPL permits personal information handlers to process worker data where necessary for human resources management pursuant to lawfully formulated labor rules and collective contracts. When personal information handlers use automated decision-making—defined as using computer programs to automatically analyze or assess personal behaviors, habits, health, or status—they must ensure decision-making transparency, fairness, and justice. Unreasonable differential treatment in trading conditions is prohibited. Furthermore, where automated decision-making produces decisions with a major impact on an individual's rights and interests, the individual has the right to demand an explanation and the right to refuse decisions made solely through automated methods. Handlers using automated decision-making must also conduct a personal information protection impact assessment in advance and retain assessment reports for at least three years.