Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang • Hacker News Board

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#31

Post by rwmj » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

mfatica wrote: post #27

rwmj wrote: post #13

Before I went to China I bought a burner phone, mainly to install WeChat (which is also a kind of malware and also "required" in China). Basic Android phones are not too expensive these days - I wonder if it will become commonplace to own several and physically separate your life across them? FWIW I got a Huawei phone (Honor 10 Lite) for under 200 EUR, but much cheaper phones than that are available. Edit: To be clea…

Kind of ironic you bought a burner phone to avoid Chinese surveillance then turn around and buy a Huawei phone

What difference does it make? Even if the Huawei phone is doing surveillance on its own (and no one credible has ever come up with evidence that this is the case, even though it would be easy to discover), it's got WeChat on it which we know scans every possible Android location and network API all the time and is in constant encrypted communication with the mothership.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#32

Post by ericye16 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

mfatica wrote: post #27

rwmj wrote: post #13

Before I went to China I bought a burner phone, mainly to install WeChat (which is also a kind of malware and also "required" in China). Basic Android phones are not too expensive these days - I wonder if it will become commonplace to own several and physically separate your life across them? FWIW I got a Huawei phone (Honor 10 Lite) for under 200 EUR, but much cheaper phones than that are available. Edit: To be clea…

Kind of ironic you bought a burner phone to avoid Chinese surveillance then turn around and buy a Huawei phone

I read that as the Huawei phone being the burner phone, which is the point.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#33

Post by saagarjha » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #28

saagarjha wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can't force you to unlock it, however.

Well, they can confiscate it and/or deport you if you don't.

Sure. If you're not a citizen, they can also probably hold you for a while too. But I don't think they can compel you to unlock the device.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#34

Post by apeace » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

> The Süddeutsche Zeitung reporter said they saw machines that appeared to be for searching iPhones at the border.

Is this known to be possible? I would've thought it isn't (at least without the user entering their passcode and "trusting" the device).

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#35

Post by saagarjha » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:02 PM UTC

Crinus wrote: post #14

x2f10 wrote: post #5

I fear backlash from this comment, but is this a case against side-loading apps?

No, because if it is mandated by law then it will need to be available region locked in app stores for China. So with this stance (ie. against "side-loading" - what a crappy term) not only you make things worse for everyone (not being able to use their own devices as they see fit) even though they wouldn't be visiting China, you also validate region locking (another shitty practice that has no place in a global inter…

Note that the software does not currently appear on online marketplaces; it seems to be installable exclusively via sideloading. I don't think anyone has really tested what would happen when a government legally mandates for app stores to carry state-sponsored malware.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#36

Post by Iv » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:03 PM UTC

murbard2 wrote: post #6

The US is forcing its tourists to give away a list of all their social media accounts and all their email accounts. If you're a foreign journalist writing pseudonymously for your safety, you must now share that information with the US government to enter the country. This isn't quite on the level of forcing people to install malware on their phone yet, but give it a couple years.

That's worse IMO.

I can (and would) opt out of taking my phone to China. I can't easily dodge US' requirements.

These two bully super-powers really give me a bad feeling about the future...

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#37

Post by phy6 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:05 PM UTC

""What you’ve found goes beyond that: it suggests that even foreigners are subjected to such mass, and unlawful surveillance."" Pretty bold for them to call it unlawful in two places when it was not shown to be against that country's laws. Distasteful, yes. Unlawful? Hard to tell from just this article. Personally, I'm more worried about exported android devices.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#38

Post by Circuits » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:08 PM UTC

I find myself torn when it comes to how the Chinese are handling Muslims and the Islamic religion in general. One one hand, I realize the religion is dangerous and pervasive. On the other hand I want people to be able to believe what they want to believe and practice those beliefs; however, at what expense? If the practice of those beliefs leads to cultures where sharia law is the rule of law? Yes, very torn here.

EDIT: Prior to commenting here please do some research on your own about Islam; specifically, Sharia law: what it is and how it works, the laws themselves. Also, please note that I am not promoting one religion over any other. In my perfect world religion would not exist and we would all learn to get along without it.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#39

Post by augstein » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:08 PM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #33

pjc50 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they can confiscate it and/or deport you if you don't.

Sure. If you're not a citizen, they can also probably hold you for a while too. But I don't think they can compel you to unlock the device.

In reality most tourist will hand over their devices though, to avoid being sent back to their country of origin.

Re: Chinese authorities install app on phones of people entering Xinjiang

#40

Post by mc32 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:08 PM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #22

lixtra wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the last ESTA form I saw, they were asking not for all, but specific accounts. Apart from fb and Twitter there was also github, but I don’t remember seeing mastedon for example. Did I miss something?

The ESTA will be a bit different, but the exact question from the US visa application is: 7. Public-facing social media platforms and identifiers/handles used during the last five years. This includes any websites or applications the applicant has used to create or share content (photos, videos, status updates, etc.) as part of a public profile. I was advised by my lawyer that this covers Reddit and HN, and Facebook/…

Haven’t read up on this, but looks like if they’re looking for graphs they would include linked in profiles too...