Social network profile to become official ID in China

China’s largest social media network, WeChat, is set to become an official electronic personal identification system in the country, with a WeChat ID pilot program launched in Guangzhou’s Nansha District. On Monday, the authorities in the southern province of Guangzhou announced that its citizens will soon be able to identify themselves through WeChat (‘Weixin’ in China), Xinhua reported. The virtual ID card will be as valid as a paper identification issued by the Chinese state, it added.

So, from now on I shall be known as Captain Beno.......for real!

How exciting.

www.rt.com...

The NWO technocratic control grid continues to march forward regardless of how distracted we are bickering over Trump's latest Tweet or what color the person was who commit the last crime we all decided to have an uproar over.

Also, happy New Year.

Should be moving in this direction eventually anyway. As the internet becomes more and more complex, and its speeds become even faster people are probably going to spend more time in virtual environments anyway.

This also saves the government a lot of money as all they would have to do is to certify the profiles.

a reply to: projectvxn

It's probably more secure than social security.

Social network profile to become official ID in China

I can't wait until we start voting on facebook here in 'murica'.

Let the good times roll.

a reply to: neo96

Facebook block-chain voting system?

I actually wouldn't mind that, it's over due.

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: projectvxn

It's probably more secure than social security.

Government is definitely a dinosaur when it comes to security.

The private sector has been making use of blockchain tech in many different ways, not just cryptocurrencies.

a reply to: toysforadults

I don't think FB and blockchain can coexist in the same ecosystem with voting or identification.

However, there a a few projects in the works via blockchain to establish a proper identification system where the person can in effect control what is private.

There is also tons of risk given the technological cusp we are on with quantum computing and volatile storage.

a reply to: JinMI

We're quite a way from widespread Q computing. Most Q computers will likely be used to augment the capabilities of binary systems already in place or that will be in place over the next decade.

In the meantime, we have a massive cybersecurity problem in the world at large, and in the US in particular where our banking system uses 40-year-old technologies for their transactions, and the computer systems they rely on are essentially one-size-fits-all enterprise systems that were not developed with speed and security in mind.

a reply to: projectvxn

Lol.

They won't be either. It's a simple calculation.

Target just spent what 200 million on a lawsuit they lost due to a security issue?

It's still cheaper than updating infrastructure and hiring a security experts so guess what, nothing changes.

a reply to: projectvxn

We're quite a way from widespread Q computing. Most Q computers will likely be used to augment the capabilities of binary systems already in place or that will be in place over the next decade.

Being widespread doesn't necessarily mean that the risk is not present. Nukes aren't widespread but the implications are, well world ending. (Yes hyperbolic but the sentiment remains!)

Also, yes, we do have a security issue, well lack thereof not only in financial but most anything related to technology. Via blockchain and DAG, we may see an answer. However, the implications of what that could entail is a very dangerous road.

If we're to take modern ethics into consideration, I don't think we as a species are ready to have the technology that we are capable of. I think 2018 is going to be an interesting year in that regard.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

So, from now on I shall be known as Captain Beno.......for real!

Just for the record, the situation is completely different from what people here may be thinking. Over the last several years, China has been aggressively pushing for real name registration for all internet users. This particular move is just another step in that direction. Your own article even says they use facial recognition software to verify these IDs.

Here's something from a June 2016 article (HERE):

China is renewing its efforts to get all people who sign up for a mobile number to use their real names. According to state-run news agency China News Service (link via Google Translate), the government has declared that everyone who buys a SIM card in China, even non-citizens, need to show a passport or another form of valid identification.

The report also says that more than 100 million SIM cards have not been registered with real names. This is in spite of the fact that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has required people to use their real names in order to get a mobile number for over six years. The MIIT claims real-name registration protects Internet users from online crime, but of course it also makes censorship easier to enforce.

At the beginning of its attempts at real-name regulation, the MIIT relied on China’s three telecoms—China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom—to uphold the rule. Then in 2012, it forced Sina Weibo to require users on the popular microblogging service to tie an ID card or mobile phone number to their accounts before they were allowed to post. Then as Tencent’s WeChat became nearly ubiquitous in China, supplanting Sina Weibo in popularity, the state told all messaging apps to require real-name registration.

The latest effort by the Chinese government to enforce the rule through a popular service is an order that will require all users of online payment platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay to link their usernames to an ID number or bank account based in mainland China by July 1.

Notice, the bolded sentences are mentioning the same WeChat company that's in your OP.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Not too dissimilar from KYC laws here in the U.S.

The difference (albeit small) is the government imposing it upon a company whether the customer is doing business or not.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

I was joking. But thanks for the extra info.

Scary stuff if you ask me?

Indeed, big brother definitely will be watching.

I guess this removes a few more steps that block the transport of "Yourself, from your keyboard" to "a football stadium" to be shot if you discuss, post or generally disagree with "The man".

a reply to: JinMI

Don't forget that many of the largest companies in China are fully or partially state owned anyway. China's definitely embraced capitalism and global trade a lot since Chairman Deng, but it's still communist at its core. Gotta play by their rules if you want access to their market of 1.3 billion potential customers.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

Did they leave out the part where it says, anything you say can and will be used against you?

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
a reply to: JinMI

Don't forget that many of the largest companies in China are fully or partially state owned anyway. China's definitely embraced capitalism and global trade a lot since Chairman Deng, but it's still communist at its core. Gotta play by their rules if you want access to their market of 1.3 billion potential customers.

They are actually protecting their country from meddlesome influence from outside.

Its not that they are 'commie' , they want to fleece their people themselves, not let international corporations do that and run off with the revenue.

They have cities, public roads, public transport, police, fire, mail delivery and schools like everywhere else. Cities are everywhere on the planet now, the largest socialist engineering projects ever built.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

I don't think if it's something I'd really fear. I'd just be a lot more careful about what I did online.

In theory, a single completely verified digital ID would be amazing. You could be anywhere in the world and have instant access to all of your banking accounts; accounts with insurers & health care providers; all govt documents, etc. And it could completely wipe out identity theft.

I'd love a situation where I could go anywhere, scan my fingertip/eye, and instantly have all of my info translated in that country's language. Make a quick flight to Brazil, swipe my finger &/or look into a scanner, and my bills are instantly paid while my visa info gets filled out automatically. If I got in a car accident there and was seriously injured, they could scan my finger/eye and instantly be able to verify my health insurance situation, medical records & potential allergies, ability to pay my debt, US citizenship status, contact info for my loved ones, etc.

There's always the potential for abuse, but that exists now as well. And if a law enforcement agency wants to find you, no amount of fake online IDs is going to save you anyway.

a reply to: intrptr

Ummm, how did that refute anything I said? And yes, China is definitely communist lol. But they've also implemented their own forms of capitalism, particularly since Deng's regime. By the way, in 2015, the 12 largest companies in China were completely state owned.

First, the top 12 Chinese companies are all state-owned. They include massive banks and oil companies that the central government controls through the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the ruling State Council (SASAC), which appoints CEOs and makes decisions on large investments. Of the 98 Chinese companies on the list, only 22 are private.

China's Global 500 companies are bigger than ever—and mostly state-owned

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Ummm, how did that refute anything I said? And yes, China is definitely communist lol.

Because cities are the biggest 'communes' on the planet. Label that any negative way you like, its still world wide 'commun'-ism.

I bet you even call the area you live a "community" , too.