World
Phones, shops, homes … China goes Big Brother on facial recognition
The state says it’s about combating fraud, but for many it evokes a nightmarish mass surveillance scenario
China has put into effect new regulations that require Chinese telecom carriers to scan the faces of users registering new cellphone services, a move the government says is aimed at cracking down on fraud.
The rules, first announced in September and implemented on Sunday, mean millions more people will come under the purview of facial recognition technology in China.
The ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) did not say which companies will provide the telecoms providers with these services but China is home to some of the world’s leaders in facial recognition software, including Megvii and SenseTime...
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