China Fines Top Academic Database $6.84 Million

China’s cyber security regulator imposed a 50 million yuan ($6.84 million) fine on the country’s largest academic database for violations in handling personal information.

The operators of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and 14 related apps violated the principles of collecting only necessary personal information with consent, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said Wednesday. It also failed to disclose rules of collection and use of information to users, to provide the function of account cancellation, and to delete users’ personal information after account cancellation, the CAC said.