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The legal foundation that requires every Chinese company to share data with intelligence services—and why this matters for your security cameras, phones, and network equipment.
This law applies to ALL Chinese companies, including Hikvision, Dahua, Huawei, ZTE, and any company headquartered in China.
"All organizations and citizens shall support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts in accordance with law, and shall protect national intelligence work secrets they are aware of."
— Article 7, National Intelligence Law of the People's Republic of China (2017)
"National intelligence work institutions lawfully carrying out intelligence efforts may request that relevant organs, organizations, and citizens provide necessary support, assistance, and cooperation."
— Article 14, National Intelligence Law (2017)
Establishes the general duty for everyone to cooperate with intelligence work.
Gives intelligence agencies the authority to invoke that duty on demand.
Together, these articles create both the obligation (Article 7) and the enforcement mechanism (Article 14). A Chinese company cannot legally refuse a request from intelligence services, and they are required to keep any cooperation secret.
"The NIL applies to all Chinese citizens and even overseas subsidiaries of global Chinese companies could be subject to NIL."
"Chinese national security laws are fundamentally incompatible with corporate independence or data protection. Any company subject to these laws cannot guarantee data sovereignty."
If you use devices from Chinese manufacturers, the Chinese government has a legal mechanism to access your data—and you would never be informed.
Video footage of your property, family, and operations can be requested by intelligence services.
All internet traffic passing through these devices can be monitored or copied.
Location data, usage patterns, and sensor readings can be collected without your knowledge.
Communications, contacts, and location history may be accessible.
You can protect yourself by choosing equipment from American and allied companies that are not subject to these laws. Equivalent products exist for every category—often at competitive prices.