China Now Requires Facial Scans When Registering For A New SIM Card

While the rest of the world looks at facial recognition tech with a wary eye due to privacy concerns, over in China, the country seems to have embraced the technology with both arms open. We’ve seen this adopted by law enforcement, schools, and even restaurants, and now it looks like the government will be taking things one step further.

It seems that all mobile phone users in China who are planning on registering for a new SIM card or mobile service will now be required to undergo a facial scan. It should be noted that this is not the first time that facial scanning has been used by telcos. It seems that companies have started to scan their customers’ faces since last year, although now it seems to be a requirement.

Prior to this, telcos in China had required customers sign up using their identity cards or passports, but like we said, it seems that facial scanning is now required. That being said, as expected, there have been some who have since voiced their concern about this new requirement.

Some have pointed out that in past data breaches, thieves would only know your name, but now with facial scans being part of the process, some have expressed their worry that not only would thieves know your name, but they could also know what you look like.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, General
Tags: China, Privacy