In June 2023, a media investigation titled "Even after the implementation of the 'New National Standard', individual information on express delivery faces is still 'running naked'" attracted the attention of Wang Zhongyong, a member of the Party Group and a full-time member of the People's Procuratorate Committee in Maojian District, Shiyan City, Hubei Province. After on-site visits, Wang Zhongyong and others found that the personal information displayed on express delivery faces was heart wrenching. In September of the same year, the People's Procuratorate of Maojian District filed an administrative public interest lawsuit with the People's Court of Maojian District, demanding that the Postal Administration of Shiyan City fulfill its regulatory responsibilities for the protection of personal information of express delivery enterprises in its jurisdiction in accordance with the law, urge express delivery enterprises to take effective protection measures such as encryption and de identification for sending express parcels, and correct the problem of personal information "running naked". The Personal Information Protection Law, which came into effect on November 1, 2021, specifically includes provisions for public interest litigation, bringing personal information protection into the statutory field of prosecutorial public interest litigation. At the end of December 2024, the public interest litigation case of "Maojian District People's Procuratorate of Shiyan City suing Shiyan Postal Administration for failing to fulfill its responsibilities in protecting and supervising citizens' personal information" was selected as the second batch of typical administrative public interest litigation cases jointly released by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Since the implementation of the real name system for express delivery at the end of 2015, how to protect personal information in express delivery has attracted much attention. In February 2023, two national standards, "Electronic Waybill for Express Delivery" and "Code Rules for Universal Mailing Address", will be implemented, which explicitly state that the electronic waybill for express delivery should avoid displaying complete personal information such as the sender's name, contact phone number, and address. The sender's name should be hidden with at least one Chinese character, the contact phone number should be hidden with at least six digits, and the address should be hidden with the unit room number. The express delivery business management system and waybill store a large amount of personal information of citizens. If it is stolen or used by criminals, the consequences would be unimaginable After obtaining the above clues, the People's Procuratorate of Maojian District visited various express delivery service points multiple times and found that more than half of the express delivery companies in Maojian District did not de label personal information such as the name, phone number, and address of the recipient, nor did they provide information security reminders, which violated relevant laws and regulations and led to significant risks to the personal information security of citizens. Many express delivery service points believe that information is hidden, making it inconvenient to receive packages and increasing workload Wang Zhongyong told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that compared to clear waybill information, hidden content requires couriers to obtain specific information through a barcode scanner before delivery, which may affect delivery efficiency to some extent, but is crucial for protecting citizens' personal information. Personal information processors shall be responsible for their personal information processing activities and take necessary measures to ensure the security of the personal information processed Wang Zhongyong believes that the Postal Administration of Shiyan City has neglected its regulatory duties and harmed the public interest by failing to de identify personal information in accordance with national regulations for express delivery companies within its jurisdiction. Designated by the People's Procuratorate of Shiyan City, Hubei Province, on June 30, 2023, the People's Procuratorate of Maojian District sent a prosecutorial recommendation to the Postal Administration Bureau of Shiyan City, suggesting that it fully fulfill its responsibilities for the safety supervision of the express delivery market in accordance with the law, and supervise the situation where express delivery enterprises in its jurisdiction fail to de label personal information in accordance with national regulations in accordance with the law. In August of the same year, the Postal Administration of Shiyan City replied in writing that it had investigated and rectified the city's express delivery industry through interviews, orders for correction, and other means. Existing express delivery, mail, and other services had begun to implement encryption processing requirements. After receiving the reply, on September 11th, Wang Zhongyong and others went to multiple express delivery service points in the city and the Shiyan Express Logistics Park for follow-up visits, and found that most express delivery companies have not fully implemented the relevant provisions of the Personal Information Protection Law, and the risk of personal information leakage still exists. On September 21st, the People's Procuratorate of Maojian District filed an administrative public interest lawsuit with the People's Court of Maojian District, requesting the court to confirm that the failure of the Postal Administration Bureau of Shiyan City to fully fulfill its supervisory and management responsibilities for the implementation of personal information protection requirements by express delivery companies in its jurisdiction is illegal, and to order the Postal Administration Bureau of Shiyan City to perform its duties in accordance with national regulations for the failure of express delivery companies in its jurisdiction to protect personal information. After the court's judgment, whether the recommended standards for the special rectification of express delivery enterprises by administrative agencies are mandatory is the focus of dispute between the two parties in the trial of this case. During the trial, the Postal Administration of Shiyan City proposed that "the 'Express Electronic Waybill' is a recommended standard, not a mandatory standard, and cannot force merchants, express delivery companies, etc. to use privacy labels. Moreover, express delivery companies in the jurisdiction cannot modify the express electronic waybill. Wang Zhongyong stated that both the Personal Information Protection Law and the "Regulations on the Security Management of Personal Information of Postal Service Users" revised and issued by the State Post Bureau in February 2023 explicitly require the de identification of electronic waybill information for express delivery to prevent its leakage during the delivery process. The issuance of unmarked electronic waybills by express delivery companies clearly violates legal regulations, which not only poses security risks to users' personal information, but also poses certain legal risks to business operations, "said Wang Zhongyong. When it comes to the original intention of the procuratorial organs to initiate administrative public interest litigation, Wang Zhongyong told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that express delivery companies in the jurisdiction have only taken no measures to effectively protect personal information when printing express delivery orders on the grounds of limited express delivery equipment permissions. At the same time, after being summoned by the postal management department, they have not reported to the higher-level express delivery company to update or upgrade their equipment App， Also, the sender was not reminded to select the option to hide personal information in the local express delivery, resulting in continuous leakage of personal information and failure to fulfill the responsibility of protecting personal information of the delivery enterprise in accordance with the law. The People's Court of Maojian District found through trial that although the Postal Administration Bureau of Shiyan City conducted inspections, interviews, and urged rectification of relevant enterprises, it failed to investigate and punish personnel of relevant enterprises who violated the Personal Information Protection Law in a timely manner, resulting in the continuous occurrence of illegal acts that infringe on citizens' personal information. The final judgment ordered the bureau to continue to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities for the protection of personal information of express delivery enterprises in its jurisdiction in accordance with the law. After the judgment came into effect, the Postal Administration of Shiyan City launched a special rectification campaign against 24 express delivery companies in its jurisdiction, and lawfully filed and investigated 8 illegal acts, all of which involved personal information issues. It also issued the "Notice on Deepening the Application of Privacy Waybills in the Postal and Express Delivery Field of the City" and comprehensively promoted its implementation among express delivery companies throughout the city. In March 2024, after on-site visits by the procuratorial organs, urban express delivery companies adopted effective protection measures such as encryption and de identification for sending express parcels, eliminating the risk of personal information leakage. In Wang Zhongyong's view, personal information protection is not only related to everyone's vital interests, but also an important link in maintaining social stability and promoting economic development. In response to the inadequate supervision by the competent authorities, the procuratorial organs shall provide prosecutorial suggestions, follow up on investigations, and initiate lawsuits in accordance with the law, playing a supervisory role; When the people's court finds that the administrative organ has not yet fulfilled its duties, it shall make a judgment in accordance with the law to continue to perform its supervisory duties, consolidate the responsibility of the administrative organ, and promote the elimination of hidden dangers. The "friend circle" of public interest litigation continues to expand. Wang Zhongyong told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that in practice, due to the wide range of personal information use, difficult detection of leaks, and difficulty in investigation and evidence collection, it is difficult for individuals to protect their rights, with high costs and low willingness. The role of the procuratorial organs is particularly important. They can urge relevant units or departments to take effective preventive measures by proposing procuratorial suggestions and other means, strengthen information security from the source, and build a "firewall" for personal information protection. Xu Quanbing, Deputy Director of the Public Interest Litigation Prosecution Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, introduced that from July 2017 to November 2024, procuratorial organs at all levels in China filed and handled a total of 1.101 million public interest lawsuits, of which nearly 90% were administrative public interest lawsuits. Nearly 99% of the cases were rectified before trial. If rectification was not in place, procuratorial organs filed more than 6000 administrative public interest lawsuits with the court in accordance with the law, and 99.1% received judicial support, demonstrating the unique institutional value of administrative public interest litigation. Xu Quanbing stated that currently, more than 30 administrative agencies and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have formulated collaborative performance opinions, and the "two highs" have jointly formulated normative documents such as judicial interpretations and meeting minutes. The People's Procuratorates, People's Courts, and administrative organs, based on their respective functional positioning, continue to deepen cooperation and cooperation, and effectively form a law enforcement and judicial force to protect national interests and social public interests. (New Society)