Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users • Hacker News Board

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#181

Post by sudosysgen » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 3:42 AM UTC

grecy wrote: post #112

sudosysgen wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Morocco at least they do ask for your passport if you want free or discounted cell service, but you can always go to a corner store and just get a Sim card from there.

Sure, and it stops working a few days later. I had that happen a few times, then stopped buying SIM cards from random people on the street (or corner stores) and so would go into the actual carrier store (MTN or whatever)

Well, at least in Morocco when I lived there I got my SIM card from the corner store and used it for a good year and a half.

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#182

Post by kerakaali » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 4:03 AM UTC

bllguo wrote: post #132

China's decisions are easy to understand if you grok the underlying motives. HN should know better than most how things become more difficult at scale. Governance at China's scale is a different beast. Clearly the way the CCP is tackling it is by prioritizing efficiency and the good of the whole, over individuals and personal liberties. If you want to effect change then think about how you might make a case against t…

I feel it's important to make reference to primary material [0] to bring more attention to CCP goals. It certainly helped me in becoming aware of their actions as another major state actor.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_Number_Nine

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#183

Post by PavlovsCat » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 4:53 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #60

EpicEng wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, look; a brand spanking new HN account backing China on this one! Yes, why would it be bad news for an authoritarian government to strengthen its hold on its people. Those spam calls are so annoying! BTW, those spammers aren't sitting there on cell phones making calls.

You can't attack a new user like that, regardless of how strongly you disagree with them. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here. The damage of punishing someone innocent is orders of magnitude greater than the benefit (or pleasure) of scourging villains, so please err on the side of being a welcoming community member. The last thing HN needs is to stew…

[dead]

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#184

Post by dang » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 4:56 AM UTC

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #178

I've had past accounts shadow banned for what I assume is posting in threads like this.

If you want to mention specific links we can take a look at what happened there. Without links, though, a comment like this doesn't add much information.

We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21685327.

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#185

Post by PavlovsCat » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 4:59 AM UTC

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #178

I've had past accounts shadow banned for what I assume is posting in threads like this.

I read so many [dead] comments, now it's time to give back and write some \^_\^

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#186

Post by readbeard » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 5:02 AM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #48

corporate_shi11 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think comparisons like this ignore something fundamental, which is the values that both countries champion. The USA is a democracy and has by and large championed democracy around the world. China is ruled by a 1974 style dictatorship, a country ruled by a single Party not the rule of law. Comparisons between the US and the CCP conveniently ignore this, yet it is what really matters. Law enforcement will always exi…

If you look at China's constitution they value the same stuff as the United States. They are a democracy by their values, just like the U.S. Words are meaningless if not backed up by action.

Interesting! As I was completely unfamiliar with China's constitution, I pulled up the Wikipedia article and the source document. Supporting your point, here is a particularly surprising (to me) article:

> Article 35. Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration. [0]

Also, from the introduction section of the Wikipedia article:

> Though technically the "supreme legal authority" and "fundamental law of the state", the ruling Chinese Communist Party has a documented history of violating many of the constitution's provisions and censoring calls for greater adherence to it. Furthermore, claims of violations of constitutional rights cannot be used in Chinese courts, and the National People's Congress Constitution and Law Committee, the legislative committee responsible for constitutional review, has never ruled a law or regulation unconstitutional. [1]

[0] http://en.people.cn/constitution/constitution.html [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People%27s...

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#187

Post by zeroes » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 5:21 AM UTC

Getting a SIM card in Taiwan also requires a photo taken at the computer (for foreigners) in addition to passport. In HK, you can buy sim for roaming use in mainland and Taiwan without any form of registration.

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#188

Post by jakeogh » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 5:22 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #17

All: if you comment in this thread, make sure your comments are substantive and that they stay off the nationalistic indignation track. That is all too easy to fall into, and it's off topic here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

@dang I sincerely appreciate what you do. Euphemistically, it's not easy. Please consider unflagging: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21679829

Code is speech.

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#189

Post by bowmessage » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 5:24 AM UTC

yorwba wrote: post #150

usaar333 wrote: post #36

I'm confused about the enforcement here. I just bought a temporary sim from https://www.3gsolutions.com.cn (which I've used multiple times before when visiting) and didn't provide any id.

The SIM you bought was almost certainly registered by an employee of the company. Unless you do something that makes the authorities want to find the person behind your phone number, it's unlikely they'll get in trouble.

Wow, that’s brazen. Explains how I was able to top up my WeChat wallet through PayPal once before a visit, though.

Re: Chinese telecoms must use "AI and other technical means" to identify phone users

#190

Post by chillacy » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 5:58 AM UTC

z2 wrote: post #21

tanilama wrote: post #5

Does this affect foreigners? If I have a AT&T plan, it should work out-of-box in China via roaming? Hope that is the case...

Always roam when in China for short trips. The way cellular networks work is that roaming plans tend to route back home, so that your access is unfiltered. The plan could affect foreigners but it was hard for years already, in that most cellular stores require a Chinese ID to register monthly service (not all take passports). I used to get the salesperson or security guard to lend their ID in my stead, and this is ex…

It is pretty slow though. The most comfortable thing I've found is buying a China Unicom or China Mobile SIM card in Hong Kong which lets you access full speed, uncensored internet in mainland China.