Research on the Boundary Determination of Reasonable Use of Personal Information in the Digital Age

Abstract

With the deep integration of the digital economy and artificial intelligence, personal information has evolved from a carrier of personality rights into a core production factor. The traditional protection model centered on informed consent is increasingly incompatible with large-scale automated processing and cross-scenario data flow, making the reasonable use of personal information a pivotal mechanism for balancing personality right protection, digital industry development and public interests. Reasonable use is by no means an unrestricted exemption. Its boundary determination should take the balance of legal interests as the core logic, integrate the proportionality principle and contextual integrity theory, and build a determination system with both normative certainty and scenario adaptability through gradient classification by information sensitivity and publicity level, coupled with standardized judicial weighing and technical constraints. This system will defuse the institutional tension between protection and utilization, provide normative support for personal information governance in digital society, and underpin the high-quality development of the digital economy under the rule of law.