China’s state-run digital identification system will protect internet users from online companies, fraudsters, and criminals that wish to access their information. Instead, it will give it all to the government.
China has already implemented a “real-name registration” system for the better part of a decade that allows companies to know exactly who is shopping, playing video games, or commenting on their platforms.
Now, the communist government is looking to completely invert that system and is claiming it wants to give the power of privacy back to the citizen.
‘Truly feel “security is within reach” while enjoying convenience.’
The National Online Identity Authentication app is to “protect the information security of citizens,” the government says, and what better way to do that than hand over all of one’s data to the CCP in one convenient place.
In order to apply for the unique internet identification number — essentially a username made up of letters and numbers — Chinese nationals will need to provide a trove of documents.
According to the Library of Congress, this includes resident ID cards, passport (if residing overseas), travel passes, and/or permanent resident ID cards for foreigners. The Washington Post reported that registration also includes a face scan.
In exchange, the users will get their own login credentials and a “network identity authentication certificate that carries the network number and non-clear-text identity information of a natural person.”
Chinese companies will be forced to comply too.
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The Chinese government explained that while the new online ID remains voluntary, any internet service provider or website may not request real user information (unless required by law) from those using the government-issued credentials.
Service providers must also ensure that users who use the authentication method have the same level of access to services as those who use their real names.
Therefore, when shopping online or visiting social media sites, companies will simply see a digital ID, making the user effectively anonymous to the online world, except for government assets.
China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, described the new program as a “protective shield” that allows the masses to “truly feel ‘security is within reach’ while enjoying convenience.”
The Cyberspace Administration of China added that the ID system helps to “support the healthy and orderly development of the digital economy.”
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Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images
China’s “Great Firewall” already filters internet traffic coming into the country while simultaneously blocking certain content — such as Western social media sites, for example — from its populace.
According to Newsweek, a 2017 cybersecurity law required Chinese internet users to use their real names in order to access certain digital services, like e-commerce sites and video sharing platforms.
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