Same text, different meaning: China's risk-based approach to data protection

摘要（出版方所载原文摘要）

This article analyzes the divergence between China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), despite their textual similarities. It argues that China’s approach to data protection is shaped by distinct domestic understandings of “risk,” rooted in past legislation, judicial practices, and social concerns. Using focal point theory, the authors identify three key dimensions of risk in China: large-scale participation, economic loss, and threats from third parties. These focal points explain why China’s risk-based approach prioritizes different enforcement goals than the GDPR. The article also shows how these differences manifest in several areas, including the definition of personal information, the regulation of automated decision-making, and the design of enforcement authorities. Ultimately, the article challenges the assumption that legal diffusion through the “Brussels Effect” leads to uniform global standards. Instead, it highlights how domestic cultural and institutional factors reshape transplanted laws, creating seemingly performative enforcement that reflects localized regulatory logics.

出处：Same text, different meaning: China’s risk-based approach to data protection，Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2025), 文章号 s41599-025-06100-3。

作者：Xiaodong Ding（中国人民大学）、Hao Huang（美国加州大学伯克利分校）、Zhengyu Shi、Yeliang Wang

收录：SSCI 收录（Multidisciplinary 类）；Nature 系开放获取期刊，页面直读。

直链：10.1057/s41599-025-06100-3 （DOI 解析；题录经 Crossref API 逐条比对一致）

主题：中国数据保护与 AI 训练数据的法律基础