Privacy in China

Digitalisation is transforming society by reshaping interactions between governments, citizens, and firms while raising critical questions about the governance of private information. China’s extensive use of data collection and AI tools, such as facial recognition and social credit systems, offers valuable insights into the future of digitalisation worldwide, despite being understudied due to biases against authoritarian regimes. While many view states like China as unyielding “digital leviathans,” this perspective oversimplifies the complex legal, social, and cultural dynamics at play. The interdisciplinary project PRIVACY-CHINA examines these nuances, exploring how private information is disclosed, governed, and contested within China’s unique framework. By understanding how citizens, firms, and governments shape digitalisation, the project aims to illuminate strategies for addressing its risks while harnessing its benefits, offering valuable lessons for European societies navigating their own digital transformation.

Project goals

Privacy is a complex topic due to the term’s varied meanings, the discrepancies between privacy intentions, attitudes, and behaviours, and the sensitivity of privacy issues. This project addresses these challenges by integrating insights from sinology, media and communication studies, anthropology, and political science to navigate the conceptual and empirical nuances of privacy.

The project’s comprehensive framework is complemented by key outputs such as a feature-length documentary, stakeholder conferences and a travel gallery to ensure broad engagement, while data management ensures the ethical sharing of findings.

In accordance with the four work packages (WPs) that structure the project’s activities and goals, the following objectives form its foundation:

To analyse the structural, legal, and narrative mechanisms through which the Chinese Party-state regulates privacy-related discourse and interventions, offering insights into state influence on individual privacy rights.

To investigate the perceptions and practices of privacy across different societal groups in China, highlighting the diversity of privacy experiences and interactions with the state and societal norms.

To synthesise findings from qualitative and quantitative data, advancing a nuanced conceptualization of privacy in an authoritarian context and critically evaluating methodological approaches to studying privacy.

To create a documentary that captures diverse privacy practices in China, fostering broader societal discussions and reflections on privacy dynamics in both Chinese and global contexts.

Mixed and unique methods

Employing a multi-method approach that includes narrative analysis of online stories, posts, and online diaries, web scraping, interviews, and experimental surveys to explore privacy comprehensively.

Funded by the VW Foundation

This project, led by Prof. Genia Kostka, Prof. Rachel Murphy and Dr. Ang Gao, is funded by the VW Foundation for the topic “Pioneering projects ‘Societal Transformations’”. The funding is close to 500,000 euros and the total project period is three years (2024‒2027).