China claims social credit system will 'restore trust'
- 5 years ago
BEIJING — In a report released on Monday in the Global Times, China claims to be working on data protection and privacy leak concerns surrounding their infamous 'social credit system'.
According to the report, the amount of personal identity data they process is just quote, "beyond the understanding of Western countries."
A report from China's National Development and Reform Commission published in the Global Times states that authorities are developing security regulations over privacy leak concerns.
The Commission is behind China's social credit system, a reputation system that categorizes citizens based on their behavior. The Chinese government claims the system will "help the country restore social trust".
In a press release, Chinese authorities announced new regulations for behavior in public transportation that could affect people's social credit. They state that eating on trains, playing loud music, illegally purchasing tickets and even occupying more than one seat can cost citizen's points.
According to the Global Times, as of March, a total of 13.49 million people have been categorized as untrustworthy. These people have been denied access to 20.47 million plane tickets and 5.71 million high-speed train tickets.
China's strict policies have even reached public toilets. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, in April 2018, China rolled out high-tech toilets with facial recognition to hand out limited amounts of toilet paper in the cities of Chongqing and Changsha.
The toilets hand-out 40 centimeters of toilet paper after scanning an individual's face. The bathrooms are equipped with WiFi, mobile charging ports and sensors inside each cubicle that alerts authorities if a person has been inside the toilet for more than 10 minutes.
This technology was called for by President Xi Jinping to improve the facilities and to prevent people from stealing toilet paper; this is being called the 'toilet revolution' in Chinese media.
According to the report, the amount of personal identity data they process is just quote, "beyond the understanding of Western countries."
A report from China's National Development and Reform Commission published in the Global Times states that authorities are developing security regulations over privacy leak concerns.
The Commission is behind China's social credit system, a reputation system that categorizes citizens based on their behavior. The Chinese government claims the system will "help the country restore social trust".
In a press release, Chinese authorities announced new regulations for behavior in public transportation that could affect people's social credit. They state that eating on trains, playing loud music, illegally purchasing tickets and even occupying more than one seat can cost citizen's points.
According to the Global Times, as of March, a total of 13.49 million people have been categorized as untrustworthy. These people have been denied access to 20.47 million plane tickets and 5.71 million high-speed train tickets.
China's strict policies have even reached public toilets. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, in April 2018, China rolled out high-tech toilets with facial recognition to hand out limited amounts of toilet paper in the cities of Chongqing and Changsha.
The toilets hand-out 40 centimeters of toilet paper after scanning an individual's face. The bathrooms are equipped with WiFi, mobile charging ports and sensors inside each cubicle that alerts authorities if a person has been inside the toilet for more than 10 minutes.
This technology was called for by President Xi Jinping to improve the facilities and to prevent people from stealing toilet paper; this is being called the 'toilet revolution' in Chinese media.