Exploration of the Defects and Countermeasures of APP Privacy Agreements

随着数字经济的发展，APP市场呈现爆发式增长。各类应用程序涵盖了生活的方方面面，从社交类的微信、微博，到购物类的淘宝、京东，再到出行类的滴滴、高德地图等，用户数量庞大且使用频率极高。但发展的同时，也面临着诸多问题。国家计算机病毒应急处理中心多次公布存在隐私不合规行为的移动APP，2024年上半年全网监测到的数据泄露事件较2023年下半年增长60%。隐私协议对APP运营者处理用户个人信息的行为起着规范与约束作用，是APP实现合规运营必不可少的部分。然而，当下部分隐私协议存在诸多隐患，如隐私泄露风险较高、对未成年人等特殊群体个人信息的保护力度不足等。针对上述问题，本文提出双重规制路径：一方面，通过细化同意规则的分层适用、建立动态更新机制与增强协议可读性，重塑知情同意规则的法律效力；另一方面，构建包含监护人协同授权、数据使用限制等在内的未成年人保护体系。在此基础上，提出公私协作治理模式，论证了平台自律、行业标准、政府监管与公众参与协同作用的可行性，并设计了涵盖法律框架、技术支撑、监督体系的协同治理框架。通过多主体协同治理，方能破解APP隐私协议的制度困局，实现个人信息保护与数字经济发展的动态平衡。With the development of the digital economy, the APP market has witnessed explosive growth. A wide range of applications cover all aspects of life, from social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo to shopping platforms such as Taobao and JD.com, and even transportation platforms like Didi and Autonavi Maps. They have a huge user base and are used very frequently. But while developing, it also faces many problems. The National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center has repeatedly disclosed mobile apps with non-compliant privacy practices. In the first half of 2024, the number of data leakage incidents detected across the entire network increased by 60% compared to the second half of 2023. The privacy agreement plays a regulatory and restrictive role in the behavior of APP operators in handling users’ personal information and is an indispensable part for apps to achieve compliant operation. However, at present, some privacy agreements have many hidden dangers, such as a relatively high risk of privacy leakage and insufficient protection of personal information of special groups such as minors. In response to the above problems, this paper proposes a dual regulatory approach: On the one hand, by refining the hierarchical application of consent rules, establishing a dynamic update mechanism and enhancing the readability of agreements, the legal effect of informed consent rules is reshaped; On the other hand, a protection system for minors should be established, including collaborative authorization by guardians and restrictions on data usage. On this basis, a public-private collaborative governance model was proposed. The feasibility of the synergy of platform self-discipline, industry standards, government supervision and public participation was demonstrated, and a collaborative governance framework covering the legal framework, technical support and supervision system was designed. Only through multi-subject collaborative governance can the institutional predicament of APP privacy agreements be broken, and a dynamic balance between personal information protection and the development of the digital economy be achieved.