According to the Procuratorial Daily, not long ago, a website issued a message saying that "for 5 yuan, you can check the detailed ID card information", which immediately triggered concerns among many people about personal information security. The website providing ID card inquiries claims that it "will make every effort to ensure information security", but people are still worried that their personal information will be used by others. The reporter logged into Juenuo.com, which provides this kind of service, input a set of real names and ID numbers, and after paying the 5-yuan inquiry fee, found that the ID photo, address, and other information were all the latest information updated not long ago by the owner of the ID, accurate and error-free. The reporter then logged into similar commercial websites like iP138, input different ID information, and separately used mobile payment and Alipay for paid inquiries. When the name matches the ID number, the corresponding photo is displayed.
Legal Focus:
● Can citizens' identity information be queried at will?
● What security risks will arise from disclosing citizens' personal information?
● Is it an infringement for a website to disclose citizens' identity information?
Lawyer Interpretation:
The procedure for querying ID information is very strict.
Beijing Lawyers Association Media and Press Law Committee Secretary General Lawyer Xu Zhanqin said that even if there is a special need to query citizens' identity information, it should strictly follow the procedures, with relevant institution staff members conducting the query on behalf of others, instead of allowing the querier direct access to these data.
Relevant laws and regulations in our country stipulate that citizens who want to query their own ID card information should inquire at the public security organ where their household registration is located; if they want to query others' ID card information, they can only apply through the public security or other judicial organs (such as holding a court's judicial document to inquire with the public security organ, or having a lawyer conduct the inquiry on their behalf).
Public disclosure of citizens' identity information poses hidden dangers.
Lawyer Xu Zhanqin said that making citizens' identity information public may bring significant security risks.
Firstly, it could lead to the leakage of personal information. Although related websites claim that personal identity information is very secure, from a technical perspective, these pieces of information could possibly be leaked.
Secondly, it could provide opportunities for identity forgery crimes. Without verifying the information of the service user, one can casually query the matching status of residents' ID cards, which might facilitate some criminals stealing information to forge fake IDs for illegal activities.
Providing ID information online involves suspected violations.
Lawyer Li Jingtao from Beijing Guolian Law Firm stated that if the open query service for ID information is provided, the website will be suspected of violating the law because such behavior infringes on citizens' right to privacy.
An ID card is proof of a citizen's identity, and the information on it ensures the legality and effectiveness of citizens participating in various social activities and is widely used in handling affairs involving political, economic, and social life rights. Only specific agency personnel (public security, procuratorate, court, and judicial bureau) or specific individuals (such as oneself or relevant individuals) have the right to query this information.
Citizens' ID information, as part of citizens' privacy, when disclosed without obtaining the consent of the citizen themselves, simply paying a fee allows the website to arbitrarily disclose it to third parties, directly infringing on citizens' right to privacy. If the provided information is incorrect or cannot be queried after payment, there might be suspicion of fraud.
Lawyer Li believes that the website fundamentally cannot guarantee the security of users' identity information. Since the website provides network queries, there will always be technical vulnerabilities, and hackers might have the possibility to intrude.
Identity information being disclosed
can result in claims against the website.
Lawyer Li Jingtao said that institutions like the National Citizen Identity Number Inquiry Service Center established by the Ministry of Public Security, as well as some authorized websites, should engage in ID information queries for public welfare purposes.
If personal ID information is arbitrarily disclosed to third parties by a website, leading to the infringement of citizens' interests, the victims can sue the website, demanding it stop the infringement, or demand compensation or an apology; if the information provided by the website is incorrect, or no query is made after payment, it might involve fraud.
Our country's "Resident Identity Card Law" stipulates that if financial, telecommunications, transportation, education, medical and other organ staff arbitrarily leak resident ID information, the public security organ will impose a detention of more than 10 days up to 15 days, and a fine of 5000 yuan. If there are illegal gains, the illegal gains will be confiscated.
If a unit leaks resident ID information, the responsible person will be detained for more than 10 days up to 15 days, and fined between 100,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan. If there are illegal gains, the illegal gains will be confiscated.
Special Reminder:
Usernames and passwords should be updated regularly.
Lawyer Xu Zhanqin indicated that currently 20% to 30% of Internet users use the same username and password on almost all websites, giving hackers great opportunities.
Internet users should set relatively graded passwords according to the level of services they receive and develop the habit of updating their passwords once every month to three months.
At the same time, when photocopying an ID card, one should note the usage situation on the ID card photocopy (information section), such as who used it and for what purpose.
In addition, the time and the valid usage period of the photocopy should also be marked.
Text/Reporter Wang Hong
Diagram/Li Ming