Centralised Chinese digital identity: the new frontier of control?
A new system is now in operation in the People's Republic that allows users to authenticate themselves to online services with a single code provided by the Ministry of Public Security. Although currently optional, it is being encouraged by several websites. The Beijing authorities describe it as a tool “to protect privacy” and combat identity theft. However, many suspect that it will make it even easier to monitor all online activity.
Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A new centralised internet identification system came into force today in China, effectively removing control of user data from companies and transferring it directly to the police.
Thanks to this system, users will now be able to identify themselves on various apps using an alphanumeric code provided by the Ministry of Public Security. This code corresponds to the user's identity, but for the company it will be an anonymous stream of numbers and letters.
According to the authorities, this initiative aims to protect consumer privacy, but critics say it is a tool to provide user data and direct access to all their web activity directly to the government.
The system replaces the one currently in use, whereby users must identify themselves by providing each individual company with their phone number and email address in order to access each app. For the time being, it is presented as an optional choice for users, but in fact several public digital services are already openly pushing in this direction.
Those who adopt the new identification method will have to register with the “National Network Identity Authentication Pilot Edition” (Internet ID App) developed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Authority, using their identity card and facial recognition to link users to a set of biometric data.
After registration, users receive a “web number” and a “web certificate”, which allow them to access various services and applications without having to enter their credentials individually each time they log in.
The system claims to protect consumers and their right to privacy, also protecting them from the numerous spam calls caused by the sale of this data to third parties. Furthermore, as Lee Kai-fu, a Taiwanese IT investor, argues, the centralised collection of this huge amount of data could generate additional benefits, also contributing positively to the development of artificial intelligence.
However, in a context strictly marked by social control such as China's, handing this data directly to the police is not without risks. The authorities were already authorised to access this information, but they had to do so on a company-by-company basis, and reconstructing a user's entire online activity was a much longer and more complex procedure. In addition, the new system requires users to identify themselves not every time they want to use an application, but directly when they access the internet.
For this reason, according to Xiao Qiang, a Chinese researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, this system would allow the state to exercise widespread control over citizens' online activity.
One of the most serious consequences would be the ability of the police to monitor and block “undesirable” users in real time. All they would need to do is deactivate the identification code associated with a person to completely deny them access to the network.
According to Xiao Qiang, this mechanism would go far beyond simple surveillance, making a form of totalitarian digital control possible. In addition, the system has received several criticisms related to cybersecurity: such a centralised system would be extremely vulnerable in the event of a hacker attack.
According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, as early as May, more than six million people had registered to obtain this digital ID, out of a total online population estimated at over one billion.
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