China's information technology regulator has urged the country's top technology firms to streamline their user data collection processes. The move comes after a series of complaints were raised over the firms' potential privacy violations. Nathalie Pang has the details.

While online users want to share as little personal information as possible, mobile applications are trying to collect all the information they can.

Recently, several Chinese tech firms were thrown into the spotlight over privacy concerns. They are accused of failing to fully disclose their collection and use of personal data. Among them, the country's leading e-wallet app, Alipay. The online company has come under fire, since users learned that it was sharing its customer information.

YUE SHENSHAN LAWYER "The application mentions that it will use your personal information and transaction records. But when these are all classified and provided to its commercial partners, there may be an abuse of information by a third-party."

Alipay apologized to its users in a Weibo post and changed its application settings. The misstep concerning users' privacy caught the attention of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China's information technology regulator summoned representatives from three tech firms, and ordered them to take immediate measures to better safeguard their users' privacy. Under China's current Cyber Security Law, companies are allowed to collect their users' data. But at the same time, they are also responsible for ensuring that the usage, storage and deletion of data is conducted legally.

PEI ZHIYONG SECURITY EXPERT "The companies should only use their customers' information for related functions. For example, it's reasonable that a social networking app use your address list to get you connected with more friends. But when a drawing app wants to get the same information, then its purpose is irrelevant."

Modern technology has not only provided us with more conveniences, but also made our lives more transparent. It seems the war for privacy will never end. Nathalie Pang, CGTN.