Table 1 Standards for the quantity of information in different criminal circumstances pertaining to the crime of infringing upon citizens’ personal informationa.

From: The rationality of the punishment ladder: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Information typeb

Standard for “serious circumstances”

Standard for “particularly serious circumstances”

Sensitive information

50

500

Important information

500

5000

General information

5000

50,000

Multiple types of information

Combined total of 5000 pieces of information according to the corresponding proportions

Combined total of 50,000 pieces of information according to the corresponding proportions

  1. aData source: The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing on Citizens’ Personal Information in 2017.
  2. bIn this context, location information, communication content, credit information, and property information represent sensitive information; accommodation information, communication records, health and physiological information, transaction information, and other personal information of citizens that may affect the safety of persons and property represent important information; and other information represents general information.