In this digital and interconnected world, biometric technologies have emerged as the most secure form of authentication. With the advent of biometric technologies, the world is moving towards better security and protection. Today, facial recognition is efficiently used by numerous multinational organizations and agencies to identify people. However, China has taken this a step further by imposing it on all its mobile and internet users.
Starting December 1, Chinese citizens will have to scan their faces while signing up for internet access or even for getting a new cellphone number. Reportedly, the country’s telecommunication companies will have to scan their 854 million internet users to verify their identities.
According to reports, this move was announced by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) which claims that it is taken to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in cyberspace.
Sources cite that, with this legislation, Chinese citizens will no longer be able to transfer SIM cards to others. Moreover, MIIT will be verifying the authenticity of mobile or landline phone numbers and would terminate service if found unauthentic. With this move, China has also stepped up its internet censorship with a compulsion of facial recognition tests to use web services.
As per reports, this change is part of China’s wider efforts to increase supervision on its citizens to monitor their behavior and activity. Facial recognition has already been used extensively in China in numerous sectors.
Recently, Chinese state media announced the development of an AI-driven 500 mega pixel ‘super camera’ which could identify individual faces in a crowd of thousands of people. State media further added that this camera device is five times more powerful than a human eye and could be used in national, military and public security applications effectively.
It is certain to say that, with this move, China could soon become the first country in the world which uses facial recognition to offer internet access.