Beijing (AFP)
From Sunday, people buying a mobile phone in a shop in China will have to agree to be registered by facial recognition and that their data be kept as corresponding to the number.
In a further step to better control cyberspace, the Chinese government issued a directive in September to "preserve the legitimate rights and interests of citizens online" by strengthening registration under its real identity.
In particular, it provides that telephone operators must "use artificial intelligence and all possible technical means" to ensure the real identity of people buying a new telephone number.
This means that buyers can be registered turning their heads and blinking, told AFP a representative of China Unicom operator.
The September directive also promises to "continue to increase supervision and inspections" to ensure compliance with the real identity registration requirement.
Although this real identity registration has been in place since at least 2013, the use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition is new in this area.
On the web, users reacted with a mixture of support and concern, fearing that their biometric data could not be passed on to other entities or sold.
"Control, and more control," wrote a user on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
But facial recognition is a technology increasingly used in China, both for security and for uses much more common, for example at supermarket checkouts.
The country has recently experienced its first trials on the use of this technology. In early November, a teacher attacked the management of an animal reserve in Hangzhou, near Shanghai, which required facial recognition for visitors.
The Weibo site is also obliged to register the real identity of its users since 2012.
The Chinese government is increasingly monitoring social networks for, he says, "promoting the healthy and orderly development of the Internet and protecting state security and the public interest."
© 2019 AFP