JingWang Weishi: it’s the latest addition to things that residents of Xinjiang are required to have by law. No, it’s not an ID card and no, it’s not health insurance either. It’s a piece of government made spyware.
The use of spyware and hacking tools by governments is nothing new. There have been numerous scandals in countries with repressive regimes, such as the United Arab Emirates[1] and Syria[2]. However, also countries with democratically elected governments, such as Germany[3] and The Netherlands[4], have turned out to be using all sorts of hacking tools to get data on individuals. In 2015 it even turned out that the British intelligence agency GCHQ spied on Amnesty International[5], for reasons still unknown.
Although the use of spyware and hacking tools by governments is nothing new, JingWang Weishi (which translates to web cleansing or clean internet) takes surveillance to Orwellian heights. Previously, governments used to at least try to cover that they monitored citizens. With JingWang Weishi this is no longer the case. People of the Uighur ethnic minority in Xinjiang, China, a region which has seen tensions recently, are forced to download the JingWang Weishi app to their smartphones. The app sends information about the phone and its user (IMEI, MAC Address, phone number, etc.) to an outside server. It also scans the phone for media files and compares these with a list of files that are deemed to be dangerous. To top it off, all this information is sent in plaintext via HTTP, which makes it very easy to intercept[6].
Although there are many things that are wrong with these practices, the most frightening thing in my opinion is that people are openly told to download the app to let it monitor their behaviour, as if this is a normal thing. Combine this with an app that promotes citizens to inform the government about individuals that might endanger the “social security and stability”[7] and it all starts to look very dystopian.
How do you feel about developments like these? Do you (expect to) see similar things happening in other countries?
Sources:
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/world/middleeast/hacking-united-arab-emirates-nso-group.html
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/technology/financial-times-site-is-hacked.html?_r=0
[6] https://www.opentech.fund/news/app-targeting-uyghur-population-censors-content-lacks-basic-security/
Hey Chris, interesting read!
China seems to be a case on its own when it comes to mass security measures. Lately I came across this (Dutch) piece on the Social Credit System which is due to be implemented in China by 2020. Your blogpost made me think of it. The system will analyze the behaviour, personal and economic, of every individual. Based on your actions and movements you will be awarded a Social Credit Score, which could in turn lead to punishments varying from a travel ban to being put on a blacklist and not getting a job anywhere. They also described it as ”an Orwellian tool of mass surveillance”. It would seem pretty frightening to me if I were to be a citizen in such a 1984-alike world, knowing you’re being watched all the time.
Here’s another Guardian piece on the subject if you’re interested: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/28/chinas-social-credit-system-could-interfere-in-other-nations-sovereignty
Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your blog! I personally believe that most of the people firmly defend their right of privacy, but there are also some who would trade their privacy for safety (the effect is doubtful but those people believe that would work). Governmental agents’ power seems to become supreme when they’re involved in the “national security and stability”-related incidents, and the companies that own numerous of data will have to cooperate with them when required and violate user’s privacy. Chinese government passed a proposed law stating that online chat record is legalized to be criminal evidence. In the circumstance that any anti-government statement could be taken as violation of the national security and stability, being more “careful” online is the only thing what Chinese can do.