大数据时代信息自由利用与隐私权保护的困境与出路——以“中国Cookie隐私第一案”为分析对象

The Dilemma between and Solutions of the Free Use of Information and the Protection of Privacy in the Big Data Era: An Analysis on the "China’s First Cookie Privacy Case"

"中国Cookie隐私第一案"从一审到二审判决的反转引发了广泛的讨论与关注:一审法院认定Cookie信息属于个人隐私,利用Cookie信息进行商业活动侵犯用户的隐私权;二审法院从规范互联网秩序与保障互联网科技发展的双重视角出发,认定Cookie信息不属于个人信息范畴,利用Cookie信息进行商业推介不侵犯用户的隐私权。以该案为缩影,大数据时代网络痕迹信息自由利用与隐私权保护如何权衡的难题正在逐渐凸显。司法实践中通常以Cookie信息的定性作为相关案件法律适用的前提与边界,也即通过界定Cookie信息法律属性及其与个人隐私或个人信息之间的关系作出判决,但此种进路可能陷入诸多困境,如Cookie信息的边界难以准确把握、信息自由利用缺乏有效规制、信息自由利用与隐私权保护失衡等。在《中华人民共和国民法典》将"私人生活安宁"纳入隐私权保护范围的契机之下,将关注的重点从信息类型化回归到信息主体的权益保障,明确私人生活安宁是大数据时代隐私权保护的现实需求,坚持网络痕迹信息自由利用与隐私权保护相平衡的基本原则,突破对Cookie信息进行定性的路径依赖,加强对信息利用环节的规制,或许能为摆脱大数据时代信息自由利用与隐私权保护的现实困境带来一些启发。

The reversal judgment of the"China’s first cookie privacy case"from the second instance over the first instance judgement has aroused extensive discussion and concern:The first instance court determined that cookie information belongs to personal privacy,and the use of cookie information for commercial activities infringes the privacy of users;while from the perspective of regulating the order of the Internet and guaranteeing the development of Internet technology,the second instance court held that cookie information does not belong to personal information,and the use of cookie information for business promotion does not violate users’privacy.In the era of big data,how to balance the free use of network information and the protection of privacy is becoming more and more important.In judicial practice,the qualitative nature of cookie information is usually the prerequisite and boundary for law application.That is,judgments are made by defining the legal attribute of cookie information and the boundary between cookie information and personal privacy or information.However,this approach may fall into difficulties such as the blurred boundary of cookie information,the lack of effective regulation on free use of information,and the imbalance between free use of information and privacy protection.Since the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China includes"private life peace"into the scope of privacy protection,it is an opportunity to return the attention focus from information typology to the protection of the rights and interests of information producers,to make it clear that the peace of private life is the realistic demand of privacy protection in the era of big data,to establish the basic principle of balancing the free use of network information with the protection of privacy right,to break through the path dependence of defining cookie information,and to strengthen regulations on the use of information.Perhaps it can bring some inspiration to solute the real dilemma of free use of information and privacy protection in the era of big data.