I once tried downloading WeChat from Google Play but the registration process required another existing WeChat user that I may know to recommend or vouch for my account first so I couldn't complete it. Strangely enough, a few months later I needed to use it for work and this requirement disappeared. Has this ever occurred to anyone?
WeChat and the Surveillance State
41–50 of 275 posts
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#42I used to hold a kind of naive hope that the ham fisted Party would eventually be replaced with democracy. I remember back in 2011 my friends that were placed in moderately distinguished positions were sending their kids to Canada to collect foreign dual citizenship, fully expecting the collapse of the PRC in their lifetime. But now I think the Party is too good at maintaining itself. It's augmented by technology lik…
Imagine a cheap plastic Crocs stamping on a face recognition database forever.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#43[dead]
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#44It's thing like this that I wonder if the the US will always have a bit of an advantage in the coming cold war. Similar to how the Soviet Union gave the West continual propaganda victories, China seems to be replicating the same mistakes. The US has done so many bad things, always seemed to win the propaganda war because the Soviet union was so unequivocally repressive.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well worker rights is a fantasy in the west too. Google and facebook track our every moves and the NSA can watch over our every move. The scary thing is few journalist are left to talk about it over here.
The NSA can't watch our every move, that's illegal. We learned from Edward Snowden that they do so for some people anyway, illegally. It's bad and wrong. It's not nearly at the level of China. America doesn't have xinjiang reeducation camps for political dissidents that also happens to be full of people charged with the crime of being religious. America isn't harvesting the organs of its prisoners against their will.…
Broadly speaking, while the NSA’s spying is illegal, horrible, and despicable, they are not known to be used for political intimidation and censorship.
I can very loudly protest against the president, or the NSA itself without fear of retribution.
*Exceptions exist but these principles are 10000x stronger than China.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Western values: freedom of speech, the ability to remove bad leaders, etc. IMO, all of the historical innovations you mention in the Arabian peninsula, China and Japan happened during periods of relative openness in those cultures.
Interesting - so those values existed well before our modern concept of "the west," in a place we probably wouldn't call "the west" during a period of time when "the west" was very "not open?" For example, during the dark ages, Inquisitions, etc? Why call it "western values?" Why not just specifically refer to the values by name?
They are called “western” values because their current form began with the Enlightenment and scientific revolution in Europe and have stuck around since then. But yes they’ve popped up temporarily in other past cultures like Ancient Greece. If you know of a better name than “western values” let me know.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#47This is indeed very scary especially now it requires facial recognition part... to sign up for WeChat, you need to have a valid phone number; to use WeChat pay, you got to provide real-name and official ID, bank account, etc. From the WeChat social network, relationships are easily identified. The mere existence of such tool is destine to be misused, regardless who made it. This is what real power looks like.
There is practically no difference in these requirements versus what Facebook is requiring. Try to create a Facebook account and they will soon flag your account to require a photo for facial recognition. You can't signup for Facebook without a valid mobile number. And if Facebook does not like the photo you provide for facial recognition, they want a government ID.
Mmh no? I've been without FB account for 3-4 years, and recently opened a new one from scratch because some friends only use FB and absolutely nothing besides confirming my email was required.
Yes, it does suggest that I add my phone, and that I verify my friends, and that blablabla, but nothing else is required for me to add few friends and join a chat.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#48I once tried downloading WeChat from Google Play but the registration process required another existing WeChat user that I may know to recommend or vouch for my account first so I couldn't complete it. Strangely enough, a few months later I needed to use it for work and this requirement disappeared. Has this ever occurred to anyone?
Maybe the person at work who asked you to use it (or whomever) vouched for you already? I don't know how it works but that would make sense.
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#49I'm glad this article was written. I think the general public is unaware of how China operates, and through education we can better protect our own civil liberties (and better understand why the China is the way that it is).
I do wonder how long it's going to be before we see WhatsApp and the surveillance state articles.
Shortly after ZuckBucks launch next year
Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State
#50Then came a stage I was not prepared for. "Faceprint is required for security purposes," it said.
I was instructed to hold my phone up - to "face front camera straight on" - looking directly at the image of a human head. Then told to "Read numbers aloud in Mandarin Chinese".
My voice was captured by the App at the same time it scanned my face.
Afterwards a big green tick: "Approved"