Support the innovation of confidential science and technology.
Improve the system and measures for the protection of confidentiality science and technology.
Strengthen the precise protection of state secrets.
Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress.
The eighth meeting voted to adopt the new amendment.
Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets
hereinafter referred to as the Secrecy Act).
It will come into force on May 1, 2024.
The revision of the Secrecy Law adheres to the overall outlook, coordinates development and security, and elevates the mature and effective policy measures and practical experience of secrecy work since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China into a legal system, so as to provide a more powerful legal guarantee for effectively building a strong line of defense for the security of state secrets. The revision of the Secrecy Law is a major achievement in strengthening the construction of the rule of law for secrecy, an inevitable requirement for improving the best system, and is of important and far-reaching significance for promoting the high-quality development of secrecy work and safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
Further strengthen the party's leadership over the work of secrecy
The work of secrecy should be born by the party, accompany the party, and prosper for the party, and has always been an important task of the party and the state. The party's leadership is a fine tradition of secrecy work and a political principle that must be adhered to in secrecy work. At present, the situation facing the work of guarding secrets is more complex and severe, and the risks and challenges are unprecedented, so we must unswervingly and always uphold the party's unified leadership over the work of guarding secrets. The current revision of the Secrets Law has clearly written the party's management of secrets into the lawIt has improved the leadership system for the Party's management of secrecy, clarified that the leading institution for secrecy work leads the national secrecy work, researches, formulates, and guides the implementation of national secrecy work strategies and major guidelines and policies, coordinates major matters and important work on state secrecy, and promotes the construction of the rule of law for state secrecy, which is conducive to giving better play to the political and organizational advantages of the Party's management of secrecy.
Improve the system of classification and declassification
Classification of secrets is the source of doing a good job in the management of confidentiality. Accurate classification is the basis for safeguarding the security of state secrets, and timely declassification is an objective requirement for facilitating the rational use of information resources. The newly revised Secrecy Law has further improved the system of classifying and declassifying secrets, and enhanced the comprehensiveness of the provisions and the operability in practice. In terms of the classification system,Clarifying that the determination of the scope of confidential matters shall follow the principles of necessity and reasonableness, scientifically demonstrate and assess, and promptly adjust them as circumstances change; Improve the system of persons responsible for classification and the authorization mechanism for classification of secrets, and make principled provisions on the marking of secret points, so as to further promote the precision and scientificity of classification of secrets. In terms of the declassification system,The review of state secrets has been revised from a regular review to an annual review, and the legal responsibility for serious consequences caused by failure to perform the responsibility of declassification review has been clarified, and the main responsibility of the organs and units for declassification and review has been further consolidated.
The "scientific and technological content" has been significantly improved
Self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology are the foundation of a strong country and the key to security. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the secrecy front has been in accordance with the first-class decision-making and deployment, adhered to innovation-driven, and carried out various secrecy science and technology work in a solid manner, making important contributions to the formation of basic prevention and control capabilities and the maintenance of the security of party and state secrets. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution is accelerating, and new technologies and applications such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence are emerging one after another, which puts forward higher requirements for the self-reliance and self-improvement of confidential technology. Therefore,The current revision of the Secrets Law attaches great importance to the innovation and protection of science and technology in secrets.
First, new provisions are added to support confidential technological innovation. An article has been added to the General Provisions of the Secrets Law, clarifying the state's encouragement and support for the research and application of secrecy science and technology, emphasizing the enhancement of independent innovation capabilities, protecting intellectual property rights in the field of secrecy in accordance with the law, and providing legal support for the realization of high-level self-reliance and self-reliance in secrecy science and technology.
The second is to improve the system and measures for the protection of secrecy science and technology. On the one hand, it stipulates that the entire process of planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of secret-related information systems shall comply with national secrecy regulations and standards, and be equipped with secrecy facilities and equipment, and clarify the requirements for regular risk assessment of secret-related information systems, so as to avoid "sick operation"; On the other hand, it stipulates that organs and units should strengthen the management of the secrecy of information systems and information equipment, build secrecy self-supervision facilities, and promptly discover and deal with hidden risks and risks in security and secrecy.
The third is to standardize the management of security and secret-guarding products and secret-guarding technology and equipment used to protect state secrets. Security and confidentiality products are the cornerstone of confidentiality technology protection, and confidentiality technology and equipment are necessary means to carry out confidentiality inspection, technical supervision and other work, and both are indispensable and important technical support for confidentiality work. The Secrecy Law clearly states that security and secrecy products and secrecy technical equipment used to protect state secrets shall comply with state secrecy regulations and standards, and establish a system of random inspection and re-inspection.
Improve the management of network information and data confidentiality
With the rapid development and widespread application of informatization and digitization, the difficulty of managing state secrets is increasing, and the importance of network information secrecy prevention and management is becoming more and more prominent. The current revision of the Secrecy Law has further improved the management system for the secrecy of network informationOne isIt is clarified that all aspects of the production, reproduction, publication, and dissemination of online information shall comply with state secrecy provisions. The second isStipulates that network operators shall cooperate with relevant departments in the investigation and handling of cases of suspected leakage of state secrets; Where it is discovered that information published through the use of the internet or other public information networks is suspected of leaking state secrets, it shall promptly handle and report it, and delete information involving the leakage of state secrets as required, and conduct technical processing of the relevant equipment.
In the digital era, data is an important factor of production and a basic strategic resource of the country, and data security is closely related to national sovereignty, security and development interests. The Data Security Law systematically stipulates the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, and security supervision of data, and clarifies that confidentiality laws and regulations apply to the management of confidential data. The revision of the Confidentiality Law strengthens the synergy with the Data Security LawNew provisions on the principles and provisions for the management of data involving state secrets after the management of classified data and the aggregation and association of classified data
The relationship between information disclosure and confidentiality
Information disclosure and the protection of state secrets are two sides of the same coin, and the key to correctly understanding and grasping the relationship between the two lies in ensuring that the relationship between the two is kept confidential according to law, disclosed according to law, and appropriately released. The current revision of the Secrets Law gives full consideration to the relationship between information disclosure and confidentialityFurther strengthen the precise protection of state secrets, and ensure the rational use of information resources to the greatest extent。For example, it stipulates that the formulation of the scope of confidential matters shall follow the principles of necessity and reasonableness, and requires that state secrets be reviewed every year, so as to further promote accurate classification and timely declassification. At the same time, special provisions have been added for the review of information disclosure and confidentiality, and a "safety net" for information disclosure has been established, so that the secrets that should be kept are resolutely guarded and the information that should be disclosed is disclosed in accordance with the law.
*: Beijing Politics and Law.