With the promulgation and implementation of the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and the clear empowerment of privacy rights in the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, China has established an institutional framework for personal information protection. Personal information is protected by law, and improper use of personal information may involve disputes over personal information protection and privacy rights. Recently, the Intermediate People's Court of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, tried a case and found that a company's disclosure of employee personal information exceeded reasonable boundaries, constituting infringement. Zheng is an employee of a certain company, and his labor contract with the company expires on February 28, 2024. The company has decided not to renew the labor contract. On December 9, 2023, the company informed Zheng via email that the contract would not be renewed after it expired, but Zheng did not reply. On February 19, 2024, the company posted a notice of expiration and termination of the employment contract on the bulletin board of the factory, including the following contents: "During the period of employment, Mr. Zheng's work performance failed to meet the company's standards, and there was no improvement, so the company decided not to renew the employment. Now we notify Mr. Zheng to handle the work handover procedures, and wait for the notice of expiration and termination of the contract, and the employment relationship will expire and terminate." The notice also contains the details of Mr. Zheng's name, ID card number, registered residence, address, and mobile phone number. After Zheng discovered the above posted notice, he believed that the company had no right to disclose his personal information and requested to withdraw it. After two or three days of posting, the company withdrew it. Later, Zheng filed a lawsuit with the court on the grounds that the notice issued by the company violated his privacy rights, demanding that the company publicly apologize, eliminate the impact, and compensate 1000 yuan for mental damages. After trial, the Dongguan Intermediate People's Court held that Article 1032 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "Natural persons enjoy the right to privacy. No organization or individual shall infringe upon the privacy rights of others by means of espionage, intrusion, leakage, disclosure, etc. Privacy refers to the private space, activities, and information that a natural person's private life is peaceful and does not want others to know." Article 1033 stipulates: "Unless otherwise provided by law or with the explicit consent of the rights holder, no organization or individual shall engage in the following acts:... (5) Processing the private information of others." Article 1034 stipulates: "The personal information of a natural person is protected by law. Personal information is recorded electronically or in other ways, and can be used alone or in combination with other information to identify various information of a specific natural person, including the person's name, date of birth, ID number, biometric information, address, phone number, email address, health information, whereabouts information, etc. The private information in personal information shall be subject to the relevant provisions on privacy rights; If there are no regulations, the relevant provisions on personal information protection shall apply. ”According to the Dongguan Intermediate People's Court, according to the above provisions, the ID card number, registered residence and home address of Mr. Zheng as stated in the notice of termination of employment contract expiration posted by a company on the bulletin board of the factory are all personal information of Mr. Zheng, and they are all private information that Mr. Zheng does not want others to know, and Mr. Zheng enjoys the right to privacy. A certain company's use of Zheng's personal information exceeds the necessary limit and constitutes infringement, and should bear the liability for infringement. In the end, the Dongguan Intermediate People's Court ruled that a certain company posted a statement apologizing to Zheng on the factory bulletin board to eliminate the impact on Zheng. Due to the withdrawal of the notice posted by a certain company, the infringement has ceased, and the duration is relatively short with minimal impact. Zheng has not provided evidence to prove that he suffered mental damage and caused serious consequences. Therefore, the court does not support Zheng's claim for compensation for mental damages and consolation. [The judge said] The use of personal information should follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity. The name, date of birth, telephone number, ID card number, address, etc. of a natural person are personal information, and the provisions on personal information protection apply. The use of personal information should follow the principles of legality, legitimacy, and necessity. Personal information should be processed in a way that minimizes the impact on individual rights and interests, and excessive processing is not allowed. The consent of the rights holder should be obtained, and after obtaining authorization from the rights holder to use it, technical measures should be taken to protect personal confidential information. Unauthorized disclosure of private information belonging to personal information and infringement of privacy rights shall bear relevant legal responsibilities. The judge reminds that in case of labor disputes between the company and employees, a written letter should be sent to the employee, which can be directly sent to the employee in accordance with relevant labor laws and regulations. Even if it is necessary to disclose the contents of relevant correspondence within the company due to work needs, it should also effectively cover the personal private information including the employee's ID card number, home address, etc., to ensure that these personal privacy is not known by others. The description of the reasons for employee resignation should be objective and truthful, and should not affect the employee's subsequent employment. If non objective negative evaluations are made that lower the general social evaluation of employees, it may constitute infringement of reputation rights, and in serious cases, it may involve crimes such as insult and defamation. (New Society)