CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Yang Cheng, Songshan Liu, Yan Yu and Weina Wang, Lantai Law Firm
Work-related data within company systems may be reviewed in accordance with pre-disclosed manage - ment rules. Covert monitoring or unauthorised access to private data is prohibited and may render evidence inadmissible. Where investigation data is shared with external advis - ers or transferred overseas, entrusted processing and cross-border data transfer rules must be observed, with strict access control and limited retention. In summary, HR internal investigations permit per - sonal data processing only within narrow and tightly regulated boundaries. Failure to comply may under - mine both the investigation and subsequent employ - ment decisions. 7.3 Access Under PRC law, access to personal data in HR inter - nal investigations is role-based and purpose-limited. There is no unrestricted right to full disclosure of investigation materials. Employees, as personal information subjects, have a statutory right to access their own personal data under the Civil Code and the Personal Information Protec - tion Law. This includes investigation data that directly identifies or affects them, such as interview records or work-related system data. An internal investigation does not suspend this right. Employers and authorised investigators may access personal data only to the extent necessary for lawful investigation and employment management purpos - es. This does not extend to private devices, personal accounts or data unrelated to workplace conduct. External advisers may access data only as entrusted processors within a defined scope. Trade unions have limited access where required to perform statutory functions, particularly in termination scenarios, but have no general right to review investigation files. Employers may restrict or redact disclosure to protect business secrets, third-party personal data or investi - gation integrity, provided the restriction is proportion - ate. In practice, employees receive only data relating
to themselves, and full investigation reports are rarely disclosed. 7.4 AI AI is increasingly used in HR internal investigations in China, but only as an auxiliary tool rather than a deci - sion-making mechanism, and its adoption remains cautious. In practice, AI is mainly used to assist with evidence review and processing, such as keyword searches within authorised systems, data correlation or anomaly detection. AI outputs are treated as risk indicators only, with investigation findings and discipli - nary decisions remaining subject to human judgement. The use of AI does not create any legal exemption. Personal data processed through AI remains fully sub - ject to PRC data protection and labour law require - ments, including: • lawful basis; • purpose limitation; and • data minimisation. Employers may not rely solely on automated analysis to impose disciplinary measures. Where external vendors or cloud-based tools are used, additional data security, processor management and cross-border transfer obligations apply. Overall, AI is used to improve efficiency in HR investi - gations, but not to replace human judgement, and its use is tightly constrained by data protection, employ - ment law and evidentiary risk considerations.
8. Special Cases 8.1 Whistle-Blowing
China does not have a single, unified whistle-blower protection statute applicable to HR internal investiga - tions. Instead, protection is provided through labour law and sector-specific regulatory regimes. At the labour-law level, the Labor Contract Law rec - ognises the right to report labour law violations and requires authorities to verify such reports. Although it does not expressly use the term “whistle-blower”, this
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