Category: WeChat

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On Tuesday, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted to approve a ban on the use of facial recognition tech by city agencies, including the police department.

However, facial recognition technology is popular in China, from surveillance to retail, AI and facial recognition are reshaping living style.

The Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance, introduced by San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, is the first ban of its kind for a major American city and the seventh major surveillance oversight effort for a municipality in California.

“I want to be clear-this is not an anti-technology policy,” Peskin said during Tuesday’s board meeting.

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Other cities and states are looking into bans on facial recognition tech, though San Francisco’s own efforts are the most mature to date. 

Actually, the ban would not impact facial recognition tech deployed by private companies, though it would affect any companies selling tech to the city government.

At a crossing in Shenzhen, a giant screen displays the faces of pedestrians who dared to jaywalk, unaware they were being watched.

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Facial recognition is a multi-billion dollar business in China, not to mention a key component of the government’s sprawling surveillance ambitions. 

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According to Peskin, he clarified that the ordinance is an accountability measure “to ensure the safe and responsible use” of surveillance tech and to allow the public to be involved in decisions like how long data is stored and who can see it.

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Opponents of facial recognition believe they have built a model to fight the technology. 

Using facial recognition in public affairs can certainly improve the government’s work to some extent. 

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Go on like this, will facial recognition check expats’ information in China in the future? What’s your opinion about that?

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New Huawei smartphones will also lose access to popular Google apps.

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The move comes after the Trump administration added Huawei to a list of companies that American firms cannot trade with unless they have a license.

In a statement, Google said it was “complying with the order and reviewing the implications“.

Huawei can still use the version of the Android operating system available through an open source license.

Last Wednesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that effectively bars US companies from using telecoms equipment supplied by “foreign adversaries” deemed to pose “unacceptable risks” to national security.

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The US has warned allies that if they allow Huawei technology inside their 5G networks they may be frozen out of US intelligence sharing.

Huawei faces a growing backlash from Western countries, led by the US, over possible risks posed by using its products in next-generation 5G mobile networks.

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Still, some countries have blocked telecoms companies from using Huawei products in 5G mobile networks.

In the short term, this could be very damaging for Huawei in the West.

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Smartphone shoppers would not want an Android phone that lacked access to Google’s Play Store, its virtual assistant or security updates, assuming these are among the services that would be pulled. After its restriction, Android users may be banned from using the below apps!

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As far as Huawei is concerned, it appears to have prepared for the eventuality of being cut off from American know-how.

Its smartphones are already powered by its own proprietary processors, and earlier this year its consumer devices chief told German newspaper, Die Welt, that “we have prepared our own operating systems – that’s our plan B“.

UK

Theresa May last month provisionally approved the use of Huawei technology for non-core parts of the UK’s future 5G telecoms networks after a meeting of the National Security Council. 

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France

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President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would not block Huawei. “Our perspective is not to block Huawei or any company, it is to preserve our national security and European sovereignty. But I think launching now a technological war or a trade war … is not appropriate,” Macron said at the Paris VivaTech event.

Japan

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The firm has been excluded from public procurement.

Belgium

Intelligence agency found no evidence of spying risk and is unlikely to ban Huawei.

Germany

The telecoms regulator said it would not ban any company from supplying its 5G network. “The operators all work with Huawei technology in their systems, anyway,” said Jochen Homann, the head of the federal network agency. “If Huawei were excluded from the market, this would delay the rollout of the digital networks.”

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“This might be the quietest Starbucks of over 3,800 shops on the Chinese mainland,” said Leo Tsoi, chief operating officer of Starbucks China.

Fourteen of the 30 staff at the shop, located in Yuexiu district and officially opened over the weekend, are hearing impaired.

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The shop has a specially-designed ordering system that allows people to place orders without saying a word.

For example, all the drinks and food are numbered to facilitate the ordering, and customers can also choose to write down their specific needs.

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“We cannot hear you but would like to share a tasty coffee with you,” said Chen Siting, who works at the store.

“I believe more people like me could find a career they are passionate about in the future.”

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Zhu Jieying, Starbucks’ first coffee master with hearing loss in China, is among three of the hearing-impaired managers at the store. Having worked for Starbucks for seven years, Zhu hopes the store could be a platform for people with disabilities to show themselves and explore more possibilities in their life.

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“We hope this could be an opportunity to promote employment equality,” said Fan Yitao, vice-chairman of the China Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Poor credit record or false promises

Under a pilot program initiated by the Ministry of Justice, the applicants will only need to promise that they meet the government requirements and be willing to bear legal liability for false information, instead of presenting related certificates or proof as required previously.

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The administrative organs will directly handle the applications and examine their credentials in their database later, according to a plan for the pilot issued by the ministry.

Applicants who have poor credit records or make false promises may still need to submit the documents required for their applications, according to a ministry official.

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Administrative organs will need to carefully check if the applicants keep their promises, according to the official, who added that those making false promises would be blacklisted.

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What happens if you are blacklisted?

As the new Social Credit System does not fully exist yet, it is difficult to assess the full impact on Chinese citizens and companies. 

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However, it would be instructive to look at the various private and government systems currently in place. 

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The 2018 annual report released by the National Public Credit Information Centre (NPCC) stated that over 3.59 million Chinese enterprises have been added to the official creditworthiness blacklist. 

For example, a health care product maker, which was accused of making false marketing claims about the benefits of a product that a young cancer patient took, was added to the creditworthiness blacklist. A Chinese vaccine manufacturer was fined $1.3 billion and was added to the creditworthiness blacklist.

Being on the blacklist means that

Companies can lose out on government contracts and bank loans, and be restricted from importing or exporting goods. 

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Individuals could be banned from a wide range of activities, including travel restrictions. Employees may also be prevented from representing companies or taking senior management roles. 

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What companies should look out for?

1 A key employee whose role involves substantive domestic and international travel gets blacklisted. 

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The blacklisted person may not be allowed to travel via air or high-speed train, and may not be able to act on behalf of the company in discussions with government departments such as China Customs or the State Administration of Taxation. The employee may be unaware of the blacklisting until booking a flight or making a customs import declaration.

2 A manufacturing company in China is either outsourcing some of its manufacturing to a third-party, or sourcing parts and components from a local third-party supplier. The third-party gets blacklisted and is no longer able to complete its obligation to supply the manufacturing company. 

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If this third-party is a key component supplier and is supplying on a just-in-time basis, the manufacturing company may have to close its production line until it finds another supplier or it tries to help the third-party clear itself off the blacklist through the payment of fines or unpaid bills. 

If the above scenarios occur, the damage to an unprepared company may be substantive. Companies may take the following actions to mitigate such risks: