Shanghai has issued draft regulations to safeguard data generated during the testing of autonomous vehicles.

The move comes as several firms in China, including Didi Global and WeRide, continue to develop self-driving vehicle systems.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Commission said it will require that entities conducting vehicle testing and demonstrations properly handle the acquisition, processing, application and transmission of data.

The data generated in testing and demonstration activities is also not allowed to be transmitted overseas unless approved by relevant authorities, it said, adding the draft laws are open for public consultation.

Additionally, the entities should take relevant measures to protect data confidentiality, form a personal information protection system and are forbidden to conduct illegal trading, transfer and disclosure of relevant data, it said.

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China is in the process of revamping its policy towards privacy and data security.

It is drafting a Personal Information Protection Law and is set to implement in September its Data Security Law, which requires companies that process “critical data” to conduct risk assessments and submit reports.

Earlier in the week, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a draft action plan to develop the country’s cyber-security industry in a bid to govern data storage, data transfer, and personal data privacy.

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