The Chinese Communist Party recently established an online identity verification management method, issuing “Internet ID Numbers” to 1 billion internet users under the guise of voluntarism to register their real identities. The new regulation was announced on July 26 and public opinions are being solicited. However, this move has sparked widespread criticism from various sectors.
According to a report from “Tech Innovation Daily” on July 31, applications for and the use of the “Internet ID” and “Internet Certificate” app “National Internet Identity Verification” trial version have been launched on multiple application stores, with the app being introduced by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Platforms such as WeChat, Taobao, and Xiaohongshu have begun trial implementation.
The regulation states that Chinese internet users in the future can voluntarily apply and use the “Internet ID” and “Internet Certificate” through the national internet identity verification app, without the need to provide personal information, aiming to achieve the goal of “protecting personal information security and advancing the strategy of credible network identities.”
However, Chinese netizens generally believe that the future “certified internet access” with the “Internet Certificate” and “Internet ID” actually undermines privacy. Many scholars, including Tsinghua University Law Professor Lao Dongyan, who is known for her outspokenness, questioned that this move is like putting a “surveillance device” on internet users. As of August 1st, negative comments have been censored, but the “Free Weibo” website and other overseas social media platforms can still search for some original content.
A Weibo user named “Good Mouse” expressed distress in a post, stating that the Cyberspace Administration of China may rely on the Internet Certificate to “easily block whistleblowers’ reports across all platforms in a single click?! Will there be no place to speak freely then? Terrifying.”
Another Weibo user named “Liu Jiming” sarcastically commented that the authorities are hypocritically publicizing the “Internet Certificate Management Measures,” seeking public opinions, while blocking people from expressing their opinions, making a mockery of democratic practices.
Some netizens believe that China has long been a “surveillance state,” making this new regulation of little significance.
A Shanghai dissident named Mr. Li, who did not want to reveal his full name, told Voice of America that the Internet Certificate and Internet ID are merely child’s play for individuals like him who have been monitored for a long time. He emphasized that the backlash from Chinese netizens against the Internet Certificate and Internet ID system, including Professor Lao Dongyan’s opinion, only reflects the superficial understanding of the surveillance state in China. In reality, the intensity of secret surveillance by the Chinese cyber police on netizens has long been beyond imagination.
He said that the captain of the public security brigade monitoring him once solemnly threatened him, saying, “Do not doubt our technology. With just a phone number, we know all your things (privacy).” Now, openly addressing netizens, the future surveillance will be more open, mainly aimed at intimidating and warning, to make you (netizens) more cautious. This will likely be the main function.
Tsinghua University Law Professor Lao Dongyan, known for her outspokenness, also openly opposes this move. She posted on Weibo, stating that the core of this measure is the implementation of an “Internet ID” and “Internet Certificate” system. She argues that this move not only entails significant social risks but also lacks any legal basis.
Lao Dongyan pointed out that the real intent of the “Internet ID” and “Internet Certificate” system is to “strengthen control over individual online behavior,” with the so-called “enhancement of personal information protection” being a veil. The system will allow for comprehensive collection of all traces of individuals’ online activities, including browsing history, akin to installing a monitoring tracker for every person online.
She mentioned that in the future, China may witness a scenario where surveillance cameras coupled with facial recognition track targets in physical spaces, while the “Internet ID” tracks targets in virtual spaces, using the “Internet Certificate” to control people’s internet activities.
Lao Dongyan’s article has been deleted from the Chinese internet and only sporadically circulated in a few online groups.
A human rights lawyer who prefers to remain anonymous due to sensitive issues stated that the new Internet Certificate and Internet ID regulations are illegal and openly violate international human rights conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Chinese Constitution. The regulations infringe upon citizens’ personal privacy, communication, and freedom of speech.
However, he expressed doubts about the success of this massive new initiative, stating that it “may ultimately be a failed project,” depending on multiple factors, including whether a profit-driven mechanism can be established within the system, similar to the Golden Shield and Skynet systems of the past, and how various power departments’ interests and responsibilities are balanced.