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China Privacy Your Rights Online

China's Giant New Gamble With Digital IDs (economist.com) 73

China will launch digital IDs for internet use on July 15th, transferring online verification from private companies to government control. Users obtain digital IDs by submitting personal information including facial scans to police via an app. A pilot program launched one year ago enrolled 6 million people.

The system currently remains voluntary, though officials and state media are pushing citizens to register for "information security." Companies will see only anonymized character strings when users log in, while police retain exclusive access to personal details. The program replaces China's existing system requiring citizens to register with companies using real names before posting comments, gaming, or making purchases.

Police say they punished 47,000 people last year for spreading "rumours" online. The digital ID serves a broader government strategy to centralize data control. State planners classify data as a production factor alongside labor and capital, aiming to extract information from private companies for trading through government-operated data exchanges.

China's Giant New Gamble With Digital IDs

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  • Papers Please (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RegistrationIsDumb83 ( 6517138 ) on Wednesday July 02, 2025 @04:10PM (#65492124)
    Having to show ID to access free speech online is the surest sign that US is sliding towards a China style dystopia. Thanks Supreme Court.
  • Police say they punished 47,000 people last year for spreading "rumours" online.

    Rumors such as Xi is a ruthless dictator.

    ("Rumours" is the UK spelling.)

    • ("Rumours" is the UK spelling.)

      It's also the spelling in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and probably among English speakers in India.

      • That's only because George III instituted a tax on the letter U and made people insert it into words where it didn't belong. It was one of the main causes of the Revolution, and thus why Americans spell words like labor and color correctly.
  • the Nazis forced the jew's to register

    • How did the Jews possess "to register"?
  • What is the 'Gamble' here? The upstream story is paywalled so I couldn't see why the title claims this a gamble. Its China, the citizens do what they are told when it comes to these things. So what is gamble here, that citizens rise up over this? I doubt it. There are things the Chinese government could try to do that could cause people to rise up, but this is not it. The people in Chine are not stupid, they know everything they post online is monitored and tracked, so just being more format about tha
    • Non paywalled version [archive.today]

      • by ukoda ( 537183 )
        Thanks for that. While a reasonably written piece the word gamble is 100% click bait. It appears nowhere in the body and there is nowhere where there is any mention of risk in what they are doing.

        I did laugh at the usual report mistake that Chinese companies willing cooperate with the government, in this case writing "Firms help with gusto". Chinese companies have zero choice. For example they don't have to supply data to the government as is often claimed, because the government can simply take it u
        • Well, I guess it could fail to work as intended and then they'd have thrown away everything they've spent on it. Though that's true with any new thing and stupid to include.
  • Any free country would be doing EXACTLY the opposite of what China is doing right now. Unfortunately, both UK and Germany have people getting arrested and jailed for posting mean messages online, just like China.
  • Much like a driver's license. There could be variations of it, where an A-license would allow you the bare minimum (banking, whatsapp, google maps, email access, etc.). A B-license could allow for specialist forums and a C-license could allow for actual social media. Finally a D-license allows everything.

    Then there'd be tests in order to see whether you'd be suited to be allowed on the internet. Those with shit for brains would only get an A-license, where actually intelligent people could get a B-, C-, or

    • A lot of guys would want a Double D licence. Would that cost more? For access to the dark web, I guess.

      Note to self: post anon more often.
    • What would you need to do to earn a D license?

    • Those with shit for brains would only get an A-license...

      And here's your sign...err...A-License.

      That is a ridiculously, tremendously stupid idea (even though I can completely understand the reason for the suggestion). There can never be appointed a group of people who get to decide what ideas are true and false under the force of law. The desire to do so is so strong, and the ramifications so profoundly harmful, that the U.S. Constitution was written to make sure that never happens.

    • Why would you want a driver's license or a license plate? After all, the former is merely a way to track you and the latter is so an agent of the state can find your vehicle.
    • I don't like the idea of having to get a license to exercise a fundamental right.
    • As has been historically proven, appointing gatekeepers to determine if someone is worthy of discussion will simply result in siloed nonsense or one sided viewpoints.
      My assumption is that you believe this system would somehow either fit your beliefs, or actually be run by you or someone like you.
      Imagine, now, someone telling you this idea is absurd, and banning you from the internet.
  • Yeah, sure. voluntary.

"It is easier to fight for principles than to live up to them." -- Alfred Adler

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