(RFA) - Telecoms service providers in mainland China have confirmed to RFA that mandatory facial scans are now being implemented for any new customers, or people applying for a new phone number, after a new set of regulations came into effect at the beginning of this month.
An employee who answered the phone at Beijing Telecom confirmed the new regulations are now standard operating procedure.
"What you need to do for a new phone number is to get a facial scan, like a facial recognition video," the employee said when contacted by RFA on Thursday.
An employee who answered the phone at Beijing Telecom confirmed the new regulations are now standard operating procedure.
"What you need to do for a new phone number is to get a facial scan, like a facial recognition video," the employee said when contacted by RFA on Thursday.
"Existing account holders are already registered under a real-name registration system, and we are sending them reminders to upgrade their registration, and we hope they will comply."
"Any accounts who didn't upgrade to real-name registration in the past are no longer able to access mobile or VOIP calls," the employee said.
An employee who answered the phone at the Shanghai Telecom customer service helpline made the same response, adding that the new requirements apply both to directly managed accounts and any SIM cards purchased privately online.
"They will deliver the card, and you need to sign; they will deliver it to your door, but then you will also need to do a facial recognition scan," the Shanghai Telecom employee said.
Vendors across the border in Hong Kong said mobile customers in the city aren't yet affected by the new regulations in the mainland.
A vendor in Sham Shui Po district said mainland Chinese residents still come to Hong Kong to buy stored-value cards which enable only internet-based (VOIP) phone calls, because they have the advantage of getting the user around the complex network of blocks, filters and human censorship known as the Great Firewall.
Read More . . . . "Any accounts who didn't upgrade to real-name registration in the past are no longer able to access mobile or VOIP calls," the employee said.
An employee who answered the phone at the Shanghai Telecom customer service helpline made the same response, adding that the new requirements apply both to directly managed accounts and any SIM cards purchased privately online.
"They will deliver the card, and you need to sign; they will deliver it to your door, but then you will also need to do a facial recognition scan," the Shanghai Telecom employee said.
Vendors across the border in Hong Kong said mobile customers in the city aren't yet affected by the new regulations in the mainland.
A vendor in Sham Shui Po district said mainland Chinese residents still come to Hong Kong to buy stored-value cards which enable only internet-based (VOIP) phone calls, because they have the advantage of getting the user around the complex network of blocks, filters and human censorship known as the Great Firewall.
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