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 cyberspace”, 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 year. Many social media platforms also require users to sign up with their “real-name identities” via their phone numbers.
The expansion of the use of facial recognition in China, from middle schools to concert venues and public transport, has begun raising concerns about information security and consent.
In November, a professor filed what is believed to be the country’s first lawsuit against the use of facial recognition. Guo Bing, a professor at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University alleged that a safari park in Hangzhou violated the country’s consumer rights protection law by scanning his face and taking his personal data without his consent.
China’s education ministry said in September it would “curb and regulate” the use of facial recognition after parents grew angry when facial recognition software was installed without their knowledge at a university in Nanjing to monitor students’ attendance and focus during class.
Experts also caution that China lacks regulation on how facial recognition can be used. More than two dozen Chinese technology companies have begun drafting national standards for the industry.
Human rights advocates described the measure as another step toward “dystopian surveillance state”, in which Chinese cities will more closely resemble the Xinjiang region, where citizens are constantly monitored for signs of unrest or dissent.
The ministry has said the rule will protect citizens from phone scams and prevent the reselling of SIM cards as part of cybersecurity and antiterrorism campaigns.
On the microblog Weibo, many internet users were supportive of the move, with one writing: “As someone who has had their identity stolen, I feel relieved.” Another said: “Even though this is coming too late, I support it.”
But others were not confident the new rule would strengthen information security. One user wrote: “If privacy laws are not sound … then you really do not have the right to require more and more personal information from the people. We just want to live in a society where our information is safe. Why is it so difficult?”
In response to mobile phone users submitting to face scans, one commentator said: “I will not. My number has already been sold and now my face will be too? Another said: “Please leave us with some privacy.”
“There is not even a little space for freedom. Everything is controlled. You cannot say what you want or choose what you want,” another said.
Lillian Yang contributed additional reporting