Artificial Intelligence and the Protection of Healthcare Information in China: A Rule of Law Discussion

Abstract

This article examines China’s legal framework for protecting healthcare information in the artificial intelligence (AI) era from a rule of law perspective. Critically analysing the Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law (2020) alongside the Personal Information Protection Law (2021), we identify systemic vulnerabilities enabling institutional overreach: ambiguous consent thresholds, absent use-case governance, and deficient auditing mechanisms. Case studies, including coronavirus disease 2019 data leaks, demonstrate how legislative gaps perpetuate power asymmetries, violating Lon Fuller’s principles of clarity and congruence. We argue that China’s “socialist rule of law” paradigm prioritises state control at the expense of individual safeguards, contravening global norms like General Data Protection Regulation accountability standards. The article proposes statutory reforms: embedding objection rights, codifying purpose-limited data processing, and establishing independent audits. Only through such measures can China reconcile AI-driven healthcare innovation with the rule of law’s core tenets: transparency, accountability, and restraint on arbitrary power.