Title: How China Is Watching Its Citizens in a Modern Surveillance State
Headings: China is building a vast civilian surveillance network — here are 10 ways it could be feeding its creepy 'social credit system'
China is building a vast civilian surveillance network — here are 10 ways it could be feeding its creepy 'social credit system'
China is building a powerful digital surveillance state.
1. Using facial recognition technology that can pick people out of massive crowds.
A crowded railway station in Guangzhou, southern China.
A BBC reporter who tested a facial recognition system in Guiyang, southwest China, found that it only took seven minutes for authorities to catch him. Watch how:
2. Getting group chat admins to spy on people.
3. Forcing citizens to download apps that allow the government to monitor their cell phone photos and videos.
The screengrab on the left shows Jingwang prompting users to delete "dangerous content" on their phone, while the one on the right shows the app's access.
4. Watching how people shop online.
Jack Ma's Alibaba uses a lot of big data to evaluate its customers.
5. Having law enforcement officers wear special glasses to identify people in crowded places, like streets and train stations.
An actor wears facial recognition eyewear in a promotional video by LLVision Technology, the Chinese tech company that developed the glasses.
6. Installing 'robot police' in train stations that scan people's faces and match those of wanted fugitives — like this one in Zhengzhou, central China.
This robot police can reportedly clean, monitor the air quality, and locate fires in the vicinity as well.
7. Using facial recognition technology to root out jaywalkers.
8. Stopping pedestrians at random to check their phones.
A police officer checks the identity card of a man in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in March 2017.
9. Tracking people's social media posts, which can be linked to the user's family and location.
An internet cafe in Taiyuan, northeastern China.
10. Building predictive software to aggregate data about people — without their knowledge — and flag those they consider threatening.
Security cameras in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Facial technology and digital data collection is used much more liberally in China than elsewhere in the world. The EU, by comparison, is rolling out new data privacy regulation that would restrict the amount of personal, biometric, and social media data that companies can collect.
Mark Zuckerberg jogging through Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
People in the country are split over how they feel about this modern surveillance state. While some have pointed out the violation of consumers' and citizens' rights, others say they feel safe because of the government's "Big Brother"-esque surveillance.
A police officer watches over a street in Kashgar, Xinjiang, while ethnic Uighur children play.
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SEE ALSO: China has started ranking citizens with a creepy 'social credit' system — here's what you can do wrong, and the embarrassing, demeaning ways they can punish you
SEE ALSO: These are the things that can get you punished under China's creepy 'social credit' system — from fake news to jaywalking

Content: 4. Watching how people shop online. Jack Ma's Alibaba uses a lot of big data to evaluate its customers. Wang He/Getty
Alibaba previously said that its optional credit system, Zhima (Sesame) Credit, ranked its users based on their online activities. Zhima Credit's technology officer, Li Yingyun, told author Rachel Botsman last year that people who played video games for ten hours a day would be considered an "idle person," while those who buy diapers online were "more likely to have a sense of responsibility," as they were likely to be parents. Although Zhima Credit has since said that it no longer tries to quantify users' online behaviour, the company has already given a glimpse of the massive amount of data it mines from its users. Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba, are required to share data with the government upon request, according to The Wall Street Journal. 5. Having law enforcement officers wear special glasses to identify people in crowded places, like streets and train stations. An actor wears facial recognition eyewear in a promotional video by LLVision Technology, the Chinese tech company that developed the glasses.