So by now, we all know about the Hong Kong crisis. We also know communist China wants to further impose their will on free Hong Kong. But this shouldn’t surprise anyone. China is neck deep in things like surveillance technology. Let’s look at China’s facial recognition problem.
Yet a new report exposed China’s government using more facial recognition on minority groups. It came out last week on Tech Crunch. They found a web browser without a password. Then, on that browser, they found hundreds of face images, most of them from ethnic minority groups. The data even uses labels to describe which race the person comes from. Then, human rights groups exposed how police use a smartphone app to spy on the Muslim Jighur population.
And this app captures everything; from car licence plates to where they shop. Not enough surveillance for you? Then more data exposed that two minority communities in Beijing were under constant surveillance watch. This data includes face recognition. And it’s enough to follow them everywhere they go. We also learn that Alibaba, China’s answer to Amazon, is the main host and maker of this tech. But when asked about this, they seem to dance around the issue.
Also, like the US, China is going through a great political and cultural divide. Their IT service issues is only going to add to that. And boy, do they have a lot. As far as this exposure, it can’t come at a more turbulent time. First you have the trade wars with the US, then add the Huawei controversy. If that’s not enough, then add the Hong Kong protests. And now, the exposure of China’s facial recognition problem. And it is a problem. First of all, this kind of intense surveillance is never a good thing. Then, when a nation adds unfair treatment like this, then it’s a recipe for outright disaster. What do you think?