On Sunday, the public security bureau at Jiaozhou in Qingdao, Shandong province, announced that three people have been detained according to the law for suspected infringement of citizens' personal privacy.

The three are suspected of revealing epidemic prevention and control information from Qingdao Jiaozhou Central Hospital, compromising more than 6,000 people's private information such as name, address and ID number.

Leaking such information by citing the excuse of epidemic prevention and control is not something new. According to the Ministry of Public Security, till April 15, the national public security bureau had punished 1,522 people for illegally leaking citizens' personal information online.

The information technology has been playing a crucial role in the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus, especially in tracking the movement of those who are infected and for epidemiological surveys.

However, there is also the risk of people's personal information getting leaked in the process.

With all walks of life gradually getting back to normal, declaration of personal information for the purpose of epidemic prevention and control is becoming necessary at many places. Collecting personal information for epidemic prevention and control is necessary, but protecting an individual's privacy is paramount for the authorities and society while carrying out this exercise.

As early as on Feb 9, the Cyberspace Administration of China prohibited the use of personal information collected for epidemic prevention and control measures for any other purpose. Organizations and individuals are prohibited from releasing people's personal information without their permission.

Many authorities have started taking effective measures to prevent the leak of personal information. Those leaking citizens' personal information are violating national laws and regulations and will be seriously dealt with; particularly, those illegally collecting and using citizens' personal information for profit face severe legal punishment.