Privacy Protection in Using Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare: Chinese Regulation in Comparative Perspective

Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are now widely employed in China’s medical and healthcare fields. Enormous amounts of personal data are collected from various sources and inserted into AI algorithms for medical purposes, producing challenges to patient’s privacy. This is a comparative study of Chinese, United States, and European Union operational rules for healthcare data that is collected and then used in AI functions, particularly focusing on legal differences and deficiencies. The conceptual boundaries of privacy and personal information, the influence of technological development on the informed consent model, and conflicts between freedom and security in rules of cross-border data flow were found to be key issues requiring consideration when regulating healthcare data used for AI purposes. Furthermore, the results indicate that the appropriate balance between privacy protections and technological development, between individual and group interests, and between corporate profits and the public interest should be identified and observed. In terms of specific rule-making, it was found that China should establish special regulations protecting healthcare information, provide clear definitions and classification schemas for different types of healthcare information, and enact stricter accountability mechanisms. Examining and contrasting operational rules for AI in health care promotes informed privacy governance and improved privacy legislation.