BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has started a one-year campaign on data security protection, targeting security risks including data leakage and data abuse.

The four-stage campaign aims to finish data security checks on all telecom companies, 50 major Internet companies and 200 popular applications by the end of October, according to an action plan released by the MIIT.

The plan called for establishing an industry data security protection mechanism, developing data protection catalogs and formulating security standards in more than 15 industries.

The regulator will also select no less than 30 innovation demonstration projects in data security protection, pledging to effectively build a security management system in telecom companies and Internet firms.

As China's online population surges, online data security has become a major public concern, prompting authorities to tighten regulation to prevent illegal data leakage and abuse.

According to a draft regulation released by the Cyberspace Administration of China in May, network operators must not force or mislead users to agree to the collection of their personal information on the pretext of improving service quality, enhancing the user experience, sending customized push messages or developing new products.