China's new digital security laws came under severe criticism from foreign investors on Nov. 11, Friday. The country adopted the new laws on Nov. 7, Monday, in response to increasing threats of psychological oppression and hacking.
Over 40 international business and innovation organizations representing several companies have expressed their concerns to the Chinese government for introducing a new cyber security law. According to these organizations, the new laws are likely to increase China's detachment from the remaining world economy, Reuters reported.
Condemning the Chinese government's steps, which are to be effective from June 2017, foreign investors as well as human rights organizations said that they are a threat to the overseas tech companies. The new laws, they opined, would force many foreign tech firms in China to shut their operations, since they would be required to undergo controversial security reviews and also store information on servers in China.
The foreign investors also shot off a letter to the Chinese Communist Party's Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Security, warning that the new measures would create trade barriers between different nations. Moreover, they said that the measures were likely to fail to achieve the desired objectives vis-à-vis cyber security.
The letter was signed by the Internet Association, Information Technology Industry Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, BusinessEurope, the Australian Industry Group and others. It reads, "The cyber security law would also burden industry and undermine the foundation of China's relations with its commercial partners."
Republican Senator from Colorado, Cory Gardner, told the news agency that he was "extremely troubled" by the new measures. According to Gardner, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Sub-committee on the Pacific, East Asia and International Cyber Security, the new law may "promote encroach upon the protection of its kin and conceivably widespreadly affect the worldwide business group."
The law's adoption comes in the midst of an extensive crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping. Apparently, the measure is also directed at rights lawyers as well as the media. According to critics, it is aimed at quashing dissent, the Wall Street Journal reported.
However, Chinese officials have said the new laws would not hinder foreign business interests. According to Chinese cyber security experts, foreign companies are overstating the matter and the implementation of the new laws will not break any international barrier. "They are synonymous. This kind of misunderstanding is a kind of prejudice," the website quoted China's Cyberspace Administration director Zhao Zeliang as saying.
Watch a brief introduction on cyber security below: