Chinese artists staged performances to emphasize the ubiquity of surveillance cameras. Privacy activists have filed a lawsuit against the collection of facial recognition data. The general public and intellectuals also oppose the abuse of the Covid tracking app by authorities to curb protests. Internet users share tips on how to avoid digital surveillance.
As China builds vast surveillance and security devices, it faces growing public anxiety about the lack of safeguards to prevent theft and misuse of personal data. The ruling Communist Party is keenly aware of the cost to the reliability of critical security revocation. Last week, the news, which was probably the biggest known breach of the Chinese government’s computer system, worked systematically to quell news that contained a lot of personal information. As a billion citizens.
The breach has hit Beijing and is widespread, sucking up vast amounts of digital and biological information about the daily activities and social connections of Beijing’s people from social media posts, biometric data, phone recordings and surveillance videos. Exposed the risk of effort. The government says these efforts are necessary for public security: for example, to limit the spread of Covid or to catch criminals. However, failure to protect data can expose citizens to problems such as fraud and blackmail, discouraging those who adhere to surveillance.
“You never know who sells or leaks your information,” said Jewel Liao, a Shanghai resident, whose details were included in what was announced in the leak.
“It’s a little rare to see even the police unprotected,” Liao said.
China, which is competing to implement one of the world’s toughest data privacy regimes, frequently accuses companies of mishandling their data. However, authorities rarely turn to the government itself, the country’s top collector of personal information.
According to security researchers, the leaked database appeared to have been used by police in Shanghai and remained online for months without security. It was published after an anonymous user posted on an online forum and suggested selling a huge amount of data for 10 Bitcoin (about $ 200,000). The New York Times has reviewed some of the database samples released by anonymous users who posted under the name China Dan.
The sample includes basic information such as name, address, ID number, as well as instructions to the courier about where to drop the delivery, questions about the amount of information private companies share with the authorities, etc. from an external database. It also included details that seemed to be pulled out. .. Also of particular concern to many are very personal information, such as police reports, including the names of people accused of rape and domestic violence, and personal information about political opponents. That is what is being done.
The government has sought to eliminate almost all discussions about leaks. At a cabinet meeting chaired by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang last week, officials made a transient reference to privacy issues, calling for the need for people and businesses to “run with peace of mind” and “protect information security.” Emphasized. According to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Last year, Chinese authorities passed two new laws on data security and privacy, modeled on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The law was primarily aimed at dealing with the collection of personal data by companies and the resulting widespread Internet fraud and theft of personal information.
However, government efforts to take safeguards lag behind the government’s push to gather information. In recent years, The Times has reviewed other leaked databases used by Chinese police and left online with little or no protection. Some included facial recognition records and ID scans of people in Muslim minority areas.
Now, people are seeing how their data is being used against them, and there are signs that governments and public agencies are becoming more vigilant. Last month, there was a national protest over the apparent abuse of Covid-19 tracking technology by local governments.
China’s latest information: important things to know
Protesters fighting to reclaim savings from four regional banks in Zhengzhou, central China, are mobile apps used to identify and quarantine people who may be spreading Covid-19. Found that it changed from green (meaning safety) to red. Prevent them from moving freely.
“China has no privacy,” said Sylvia Sea, 30, a protester whose health law went into the red. Zhengzhou officials were pressured to explain the episode and later punished five officials for changing the code of more than 1,300 customers.
Even when Covid-19 tracking techniques are used for their stated purposes, more people seem willing to ask if oversight is over.Thursday, Beijing blogger Posted on Weibo He refused to wear an electronic bracelet to track his movements while isolated, stating that the device was an “electronic shackle” and violated his privacy. The post was highly rated about 60,000 times and users flooded his post with replies. Many said they reminded them of the treatment of criminals. Others have called the secret collection of personal information a trick. According to bloggers, the post was later withdrawn by censorship.
In recent years, individuals have been paying attention to privacy concerns. In 2019, a prominent technology hub in eastern China, a law professor in Hangzhou, sued a local zoo for forcing the submission of face recognition data, the first such proceeding in China. He won the case.
Beginning in late 2020, some Chinese cities began banning neighboring committees from forcing residents to undergo biometric monitoring to enter their compounds. Around the same time, a toilet paper dispenser using facial recognition was removed from a public toilet in Dongguan City, southern China, in response to public anger.
In online forums like Zhihu, which is a platform like Quora, Chinese users exchange advice on how to avoid surveillance (tips are wearing hats and masks, pointing flashlights to security cameras). And so on). According to a survey of more than 20,000 Chinese people jointly conducted by a Chinese think tank and the government task force in late 2020, more than 60% of Chinese people say that facial recognition technology has been abused. Over 80% expressed concern about whether and how to store facial recognition data.
“Inevitable public awareness of data privacy is inevitable,” said Dragon Zheng, an artist based in the southern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region who is exploring the interaction between technology and governance.
In 2016, Mr. Chung installed a security camera in a large exhibition hall and streamed live video to a surveillance room installed in the center of the hall. Visitors were invited to the room, where they could operate the camera and experience the feeling that Mr. Chung was “monitoring, being monitored, controlled, and controlled.”
Still, he emphasized that the risks and benefits of the technology are not unique to China.
“Technology is like a Pandora’s box,” Chung said. “Once opened, how you use it depends on who gets it.”
Few Chinese citizens have publicly asked the government about the collection of personal data. Some of this may be the result of rigorous government censorship and threats to the security of individuals who criticize the government. However, many residents see the passing of data as a necessary trade-off for security and convenience.
“There has always been this split identity when it comes to China’s privacy consciousness,” says Samm Sacks. researcher About Yale Law School and New American Technology Policy. “People are far more confident about how government agencies process personal information overall and are much more suspicious about the corporate sector.”
Legal analysts said disciplinary action due to a Shanghai police database breach is unlikely to be announced. There are few mechanisms that hold Chinese government agencies accountable for their data breaches. For many citizens, their lack of reliance contributes to the sense of resignation.
But from time to time, they can win small wins, such as when Xu Peilin attended a local neighborhood association last year. One day she went home to her apartment in Beijing and wanted the compound to submit a facial recognition scanner to the residents to enter.
“It was insane,” said Xu, 37, a project manager at a startup. She said it reminded me of one of her favorite TV shows, the British science fiction series Black Mirror.
Mr. Xu put a badge on her neighborhood association by phone and text message until they forgave. For now, Mr. Xu believed that it was only a matter of time before her facial recognition device became mandatory again, but she could use a key card to allow her to enter her compound. She said.
“For now, all I can do is keep on a small scale and resist,” she said.
Zixu Wang Report that contributed.
