context: Beijing sees data as the next economic driver, but challenges surrounding data silos persist, marked by authorities not willing to share data for public use. Public data regulations on registration, usage and pricing are in place. Now the challenge is implementation. Many businesses and organisations do not know what public data is available, where to find it or how to get it. Local bureaus cannot build up datasets that could serve for meaningful usage at the upper level.
The State Council published the administrative regulations on government data sharing, on 3 June, marking the first administrative regulation dedicated to promoting standardised and efficient government data sharing, reports Xinhua.
The regulation is groundbreaking as it systematically clarifies the institutional framework, paths, rules, safeguards and legal responsibilities for government data sharing at the national level, notes Zhao Peng 赵鹏 China University of Political Science and Law Institute for Law-Based Government director.
The new rules specify requirements for each step of data catalogue management and data sharing and designate responsibilities for data source departments, preventing redundant data collection, according to Xinhua.
These defined responsibilities and procedures close previously existing gaps in the regulatory framework, making data sharing rules significantly more precise and effective, emphasises Meng Qingguo 孟庆国 Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management professor.
According to Xinhua, the regulations aim to address data silos and obstacles to sharing through
- prohibiting departments from setting unauthorised conditions or restrictions that impede government data sharing
- legal justification required for refusal to share data
- mechanisms for resolving disputes
The regulations ensure security by balancing data openness with security management and defining security responsibilities at every stage of data provision, use and management, says Yu Xiaohui 余晓晖 CAICT (China Academy of Information and Communications Technology) president.
The regulation will boost inter-departmental coordination, creating synergistic effects that facilitate efficient governmental processes and reform, argues Jiang Xiaojuan 江小涓 University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences professor. She notes that government services will be improved through reducing institutional transaction costs by
- facilitating automatic policy fulfilment
- targeted delivery of services
The regulations will reduce burdens for grassroots levels, according to Jiang and Jin Zhipeng 金志鹏 Zhejiang Provincial Data Bureau director, because they
- require higher-level government departments to ensure timely and complete data flow back to lower-level departments
- facilitate integrated online services
On implementation, Liu Xutao 刘旭涛 National Academy of Governance professor advocates for focusing on practical application scenarios
- encouraging data sharing driven by real-world firm and citizen needs
- mutual integration of operational systems and local data platforms
- preventing unauthorised or unnecessary data collection and use