Ministry claims change will ‘protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspace’ but critics say it’s dystopian
All mobile phone users in China registering new SIM cards must submit to facial recognition scans, according to a new rule that went into effect across the country on
Sunday.
The guidelines, first issued in September, require telecoms companies to deploy “artificial intelligence and other technical methods†to check the identities of people registering SIM cards. All physical stores in the country have had until 1 December to begin implementing the new standards.
The measure, described by the ministry of industry and information as a way to “protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspaceâ€, makes Chinese mobile phone and internet users easier to track.
Already, mobile phone users are required to register SIM cards with their identity cards or passports and many telecoms had begun scanning customers’ faces since last [...]
What is Biometric? Biometrics is the technical term for body measurements and calculations. It refers to metrics related to human characteristics. Biometrics authentication is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under
surveillance. Examples of biometric include fingerprint scan, palm veins, face recognition, DNA, palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina and odour/scent.
What is China? China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, it is the world's third or fourth-largest country by area. Governed solely
by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. China is a unitary one-party socialist republic, and is one of the few existing nominally socialist states. Political dissidents and human rights groups have denounced and criticized the Chinese government for human rights abuses, including suppression of religious and ethnic minorities, censorship, mass surveillance, and their response to protests, notably in 1989.
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