Law firm Dentons is separating from its Chinese operations to comply with new, more restrictive data and privacy regulations.
Dentons, a law firm with partners around the world, will part ways with its Chinese branch this month in response to “government mandates” related to cybersecurity and data protection. Dentons will become fully independent from Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, a local private firm it has been partnering with since 2015.
The global agency becomes the latest Western firm to take drastic measures to comply with sweeping restrictions on data handling and transfers in and out of China that are due to come into effect later this year. Among other things, Beijing’s new data security regime gives President Xi Jinping’s administration the power to shut down or fine companies that leak or mishandle sensitive information. Penalties include fines and suspensions.
Xi’s administration has tightened control over the amount of information produced by the country’s companies, considered essential for driving the economy and future technologies such as artificial intelligence. But the broad and vague nature of the new regulations has raised concerns about compliance and penalties for non-compliance.