You have the right to view, copy, correct, and delete your personal information; if refused, you can sue.

8. You have the right to view, copy, correct, and delete your personal information; if refused, you can sue.

Cost: There is no cost involved. Only if the company drags its feet do you need to file a complaint or sue. A lawsuit typically takes several months to resolve, and you must pay legal fees yourself. Therefore, filing a complaint first is the more cost-effective option. The difficult part is having to repeatedly follow up when the company delays action.

In plain terms: You have the right to demand that a company let you view, copy, correct, and delete your personal information. When a service is discontinued, its retention period expires, or you withdraw consent, the company is obligated to delete that data on its own. If it refuses your request, it must provide a valid reason; otherwise, you can take it to court. Deactivating an account and deleting personal information are two separate actions — after deactivating, you must separately request deletion.

Benefit: There are several situations in which a company must proactively delete personal information: when a service is discontinued, when the agreed retention period ends, when you withdraw consent, or when the original purpose of data collection has been fulfilled. If it fails to do so, you can demand deletion. Should it deny your rights without justification, you may file a lawsuit.

Evidence grade: A

Notes: Deactivating an account and deleting personal information are distinct processes; after deactivating, you must separately request deletion. Before switching phones or selling an old device, make sure to log out of all accounts, unlink them, and then perform a factory reset. The law grants you a right to deletion after the fact — it cannot retrieve data that has already been leaked.

Sources: National People's Congress Standing Committee (2021). Personal Information Protection Law. China National People's Congress Network. <http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202108/t20210820_313088.html>: Article 45 "Individuals have the right to consult and copy their personal information from personal information processors... Individuals request access, If the personal information is copied, the personal information processor shall provide it in a timely manner"; Article 46 Right of Correction and Supplement; Article 47 lists five situations in which deletion should be voluntary, including "(1) The processing purpose has been achieved, cannot be achieved or is no longer necessary to achieve the processing purpose" (2) The personal information processor stops providing products or services, or the retention period has expired" (3) The individual withdraws consent", "If the personal information processor has not deleted it, the individual has the right to request deletion"; Article 50 "Personal information processors should establish a convenient mechanism for accepting and processing applications for individuals to exercise their rights. If they refuse an individual's request to exercise their rights, they should explain the reasons." "Individuals may file lawsuits in the People's Court in accordance with the law."