Tourists have their body temperature measured before entering the Hongyadong scenic area in southwest China's Chongqing, May 3, 2020. File photo: Xinhua

A court in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality recently concluded the first case of infringement on citizens' privacy related to the COVID-19 epidemic, ordering a company that intentionally disclosed personal information to publish a written apology letter to the plaintiff, and pay 1 yuan ($0.15) in compensation for emotional damage. 

In July, some packaging of a batch of imported frozen shrimp from Ecuador tested positive for COVID-19 in a Chongqing cold storage. As relevant departments had organized for the products involved and the purchasers to receive nucleic acid testing, a marketing planning company in Chongqing published an article, making public a list of customers who had purchased the batch of shrimp. The list included more than 10,000 Chongqing residents' names, home addresses, ID numbers, cell phone numbers and other detailed personal information. It was widely reproduced and disseminated in a few days. 

The plaintiff, surnamed Zhao, who was on the list, took the company to court, demanding an open apology and one yuan in compensation for emotional damages.

The court held that the defendant used the COVID-19 epidemic as an excuse to publish people's personal information, causing a widespread secondary dissemination and resulting in serious leaks of the plaintiff's privacy. This act not only brought security risks to the plaintiff's personal safety and property, but also caused a negative impact and seriously affected others' daily interpersonal and normal lives. The plaintiff's claims were upheld by the court. 

The court also stressed the balance between the use of big data for joint prevention and control work and the protection of citizens' personal information, and that people's personal information should not be disclosed without consent. All organizations and individuals have to comply with the relevant national regulations and scientific prevention of the epidemic. This is the first court ruling on a case of this kind.

Privacy protection has been an issue of public concern in the process of bringing COVID-19 under control. Earlier in December, the Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Southwest China's Sichuan Province called for patients' privacy to be protected after the leak of a personal information of a 20-year-old COVID-19 female patient sparked widespread public concern over cyber bullying. 

Global Times