What happened: The Information Technology Industry (ITI) Council is pushing US government officials that China’s new cybersecurity law is a far more pressing issue than focusing on China’s domestic campaign, Made in China 2025 (MIC 2025), that provides massive financial support for tech innovations. China’s cybersecurity law, enacted in June 2017, will set punishments for not properly censoring content while the MIC 2025 does not intend to punish companies.
Why it’s important: The Chinese government has already fined technology companies in China for failing to censor user content properly and in the future, companies worry this could only get worse. Naomi Wilson, ITI’s director of global policy for China and Greater Asia, told SCMP that the cybersecurity regulations impose more challenges because regulators have been adding specifications on how companies should comply.