Company: ZHIHF
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000729
Chunk: 283

Company: Zhihu Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 283
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 guardians.
On November 28, 2019, the CAC, MIIT, the Ministry of Public Security and the SAMR jointly issued the Measures to Identify Illegal Collection and Usage of Personal Information by Apps, which list six types of illegal collection and usage of personal information, including “not publishing rules on the collection and usage of personal information” and “not providing privacy rules.”
Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the PRC Criminal Law, issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on August 29, 2015, becoming effective on November 1, 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill its obligations related to internet information security administration as required under applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders shall be subject to criminal penalty. In addition, Interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringement of Personal Information, issued on May 8, 2017, becoming effective on June 1, 2017, clarify certain standards for the conviction and sentencing of the criminals in relation to personal information infringement. In addition, on May 28, 2020, the National People’s Congress adopted the PRC Civil Code, which came into effect on January 1, 2021. Pursuant to the PRC Civil Code, personal information of a natural person shall be protected by the law. Any organization or individual shall legally obtain personal information of others when necessary and ensure the safety of such information and shall not illegally collect, use, process or transmit personal information of others, or illegally purchase or sell, provide or make public personal information of others.

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The MIIT issued the Notice on the Further Special Rectification of App Infringing upon Users’ Personal Rights and Interests on July 22, 2020, which requires that certain conducts of app service providers should be inspected, including, among others, (i) collecting or using personal information without the user’s consent, collecting or using personal information beyond the necessary scope of providing services, and forcing users to receive advertisements; (ii) requesting user’s permission in a compulsory and frequent manner, or frequently launching third- parties apps; and (iii) deceiving and misleading users into downloading apps or providing personal information. It also sets forth that the period for the regulatory specific inspection on apps and that the MIIT will order the non-compliant entities to modify their business within five business