NEWS//China’s video surveillance

Everywhere in China, video cameras are collecting data on who is where, when they are there, and whom they are with.   

Surveillance is everywhere

According to a report in the Washington Post, China’s vast surveillance network is expanding. It already has a sophisticated network of 200-300 million surveillance cameras on streets, in shopping malls, and at transportation hubs. Churches are required to install video surveillance. But a more ambitious plan is to incorporate data feeds from banks, airports, and other businesses, as well as from private cameras on compounds and buildings. 

Aided by advances in computer-driven facial recognition, Chinese police and security forces have embraced this technology as a significant tool to fight crime.

Billed as a crime-stopper 

The Post reports that this program will help China “use facial recognition and artificial intelligence to analyze and understand the mountain of incoming video evidence; to track suspects, spot suspicious behaviors and even predict crime; to coordinate the work of emergency services; and to monitor the comings and goings of the country’s 1.4 billion people, official documents and security industry reports show.”

Used to spy on China’s citizens 

China’s intention is to link the information it captures from video cameras to its data on criminal activity, medical records, travel, online purchases, and social media comments. In turn, this information is linked to every citizen’s identity card and face. Based on that information, everyone will be assigned a “social credit” score that reflects how trustworthy the government and their fellow citizens consider them.

Read the entire article in the Washington Post.  

A related stories are at China Underground, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, BBC