cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/36106116
[…]
According to the measures, introduced by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), each internet user in China will be issued with a unique “web number,” or wanghao (网号), that is linked to their personal information. While these IDs are, according to the MPS notice, to be issued on a strictly voluntary basis through public service platforms, the government appears to have been working on this system for quite some time — and state media are strongly promoting it as a means of guaranteeing personal “information security” (信息安全). With big plans afoot for how these IDs will be deployed, one obvious question is whether these measures will remain voluntary.
[…]
The measures bring China one step closer to centralized control over how Chinese citizens access the internet. The Cybersecurity Law of 2017 merely stipulated that when registering an account on, say, social media, netizens must register their “personal information” (个人信息), also called “identifying information” (身份信息). That led to uneven interpretations by private companies of what information was required. Whereas some sites merely ask for your name and phone number, others also ask for your ID number — while still others, like Huawei’s cloud software, want your facial biometrics on top of it.
[…]
Beyond the key question of personal data security, there is the risk that the cyber ID system could work as an internet kill switch on each and every citizen. It might grant the central government the power to bar citizens from accessing the internet, simply by blocking their cyber ID. “The real purpose is to control people’s behavior on the Internet,” Lao Dongyan cautioned last year.
[…]
Take a closer look at state media coverage of the evolving cyber ID system and the expansion of its application seems a foregone conclusion — even extending to the offline world. Coverage by CCTV reported last month that it would make ID verification easier in many contexts. “In the future, it can be used in all the places where you need to show your ID card,” a professor at Tsinghua’s AI Institute said of the cyber ID. Imagine using your cyber ID in the future to board the train or access the expressway.
[…]
While Chinese state media emphasize the increased ease and security cyber IDs will bring, the underlying reality is more troubling. Chinese citizens may soon find themselves dependent on government-issued digital credentials for even the most basic freedoms — online and off.
On the flip side this will make western lawmakers look bad when they ultimately try the same shit…
Or, in this case, “their authoritarian surveillance state” versus “our common sense age verification to protect our children”.
I feel like its gonna be the Samsung-Apple rivalry all over again.
Apple removes a feature
Samsung laughs at Apple
Samsung does the same thing next year
I wish. Elon Musk was inspired by WeChat, and the US has already started sending undesirables to faraway labor camps. Praise of the Taliban has been… Not uncommon in conservative circles as far back as 2021, and there’s nothing unusual about the current administration copping CCP rules while pretending to oppose them.
Can we require all Lemmy tankies to also be required IDs to access the internet and always use their real names in social media?
Since they approve of China’s policies, they should have no problem with this, right?
its been a long and arduous process blocking all of the tankie communities.
What about all of the .ml instances that would ban you if you posted this article?
Ironically, this new China policy would only require them to give you an ID that the government knows is associated with you. In other words, on a technical level, it might be more private than their current system.
In the United States, the concept of a digital ID is reprehensible because it would be far worse than the status quo.
Can’t speak for the US, but in Ukraine digital IDs are very helpful. You of course don’t use them on random sites (you can’t even if you wanted to), but they are great for all sorts of services and links to other government digital services (e.g. healthcare).
We have them in British Columbia, Canada. Once you verify you are who you claim, via documents, in person check, or recording and doing what the app asks you to do live, you get an ID. For us it is used to access BC government services, or login to the Canada Revenue Services to access tax our tax data.
How am I gonna shit post if I need ID.
With a VPN. They might know you are using one, but everything you do remains obscured.
這跟實名認證的有什麼區別？
Wait until Captain Cheeto’s or the maker of the Nazicar get a hold of this!
