Evaluating Data Security in Chinese Drones and Smart Vehicles

This report reviews whether China’s legal frameworks for data governance create or increase risks for Dutch and European companies, individuals, infrastructure and national security, whether the Chinese government can leverage this legislation to affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal and corporate data of Dutch and European citizens, companies, organizations and government bodies.

Its first section will focus on the legal and policy-strategic aspects of Chinese data regulation, exploring the extent to which Chinese law enables access to sensitive information. The second section specifically addresses the case studies of smart vehicles and drones, reviewing the technical aspects of related data flows and discussing the state of technical standardization. The third section summarizes the report’s findings, and offers policy recommendations. For the purposes of this report, the focus concerning smart connected vehicles is on battery electric consumer vehicles (instead of, for instance, buses and other public transport vehicles), and concerning UAVs is on commercial (not military use) drones.