On March 7th 2019, AmCham China and Microsoft China, one of the Digital Circle partners of AmCham China, cohosted the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Forum on AI and Big Data in Connected Vehicles. This is the first public event held by AmCham and Microsoft in 2019 under AmCham China’s Technology and Innovation Initiative. More than 100 legal and compliance executives and experts attended to discuss the technical, legal and compliance opportunities and challenges in of the connected vehicles industry.
Building Trust in Cloud and AI to Accelerate Digital Transformation
Katherine Bostick, the Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft China, believed that issues like privacy and security were deeply integrated into the cloud era. Microsoft has been working hard to earn the world’s trust. Microsoft invests over USD 1 billion a year to protect costumers, and they have also built the largest directory of standard certifications for all technology providers. “First, establish the legal compliance teams with sufficient autonomy and authority; second, leverage the investments and expertise of our compliance resources; third, don’t let compliance guide for organization.” These are the methods for Microsoft to build the compliance culture.
Qing Wei, the National Technology Officer of Microsoft China, elaborated his in-depth understanding of the essence of technology transformation. “Technology has the meaning of the times. Only by understanding the vitality of technology itself, do you know what kind of technology and solution are needed in this era.” Microsoft is working on ubiquitous intelligence (“Haze Computing”) through computing and telecommunication.
Autonomous driving, with extensive reliance on precise computing, must be supported by the cyclic development of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge computing. Microsoft will help automobile companies to control data and achieve digital transformation by establishing a win-win environment for OEMs and suppliers through multilateral collaboration.
The Future Has Come: Balance the Technology, Compliance and Business Considerations in Connected Vehicles
Susan Ning, Partner and Head of Compliance Group at King & Wood Mallesons, put great emphasis on the multilateral collaboration in autonomous driving. Software providers must interact with OEMs, hardware suppliers and cloud service providers, and sometimes customers are involved as well. The key focus of the compliance, as concluded by Ms. Ning, are the access of user authorization, data control, supervising the third party, anonymization, information security, and cross-border data transmission. However, under the existing legal framework of different countries, the transmission of navigation data for cross-border cooperation can be beset with substantial difficulties.
In the following panel discussion, Han Wu, Partner of Compliance Group at King & Wood Mallesons, Albert Xie, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations of General Motor, Lisa Li, Partner of TMT Risk Assurance and Cybersecurity at PWC, and Kai Ni, Founder and CEO of HoloMatic Technology, discussed how to balance the privacy protection and data utilization of connected vehicles. On behalf of their respective industries and positions in the supply chain, the panelists shared insights on the importance and scarcity of data support in technical service development, the optimal arrangement of internal data security solutions, the exploration of emerging technologies of traditional car companies, customer data protection and security compliance, and various challenges faced by foreign enterprises operating in China through multilateral cooperation, etc.
“To promote the development of emerging industries under existing national policies, technologies need to be developed with the context of data sharing, and the data exchange and utilization need to be implemented in a secure and internally controlled environment. In this way, technology, compliance, and business considerations can strike a balance for privacy protection and data utilization,” concluded by Mr. Wu at the end of discussion.
Launched in 2018, AmCham China Technology and Innovation Initiative is an insight and collaboration platform designed to help our members and their organizations navigate and take advantage of the impact of disruptive technologies, such as AI, Blockchain, Internet of Things, AR/VR, etc. The Initiative aims to bring together a diverse, cross-sector community of companies applying technologies to innovate in order to share best practices, showcase American technology and innovation at work in China, and deepen relationships between technology providers and adopters. The Digital Circle partners play a leadership role in the AmCham China community to help define activity and policy priorities for the T&I Initiative.
Rhine Yuan is the Executive Support and Special Project Leader, and Yikun Liu is Special Project Intern.