SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Privacy policy (PP) is a legal contract by which internet companies inform users of what and how their personal data are being collected and used. Despite the establishment of the first Chinese Personal Information Protection Law in 2021, many users rarely have the capacity to read and understand PP and select I read and agree regardless. This paper provides an empirical investigation of Chinese citizens’ perceptions and interactions with PP. A survey (N=193) using the A/B testing method assessed self-reported PP reading tendency and perceptions in relation to age and education. Logical regression reveals a negative association of age with PP reading tendency and importance perception. Surprisingly, the experiment group rated the importance of personal data lower than the control group. An experiment survey (N=500) was launched to further examine whether providing PP safety warnings will increase users’ reading time and level of understanding. We will use a t-test to analyze the survey result.