24 Oct China Creates Database of Citizen’s Voices to Boost Surveillance Capabilities
A report released by Human Rights Watch last Monday revealed that China is already in the process of establishing a national voice biometric database which will be used to further the country’s surveillance capabilities.
HRW additionally uncovered that the Chinese government is collaborating with iFlyTek, a company that specializes in speech recognition technology. The privacy watchdog contacted the company with several questions regarding its relationship with the government and its human rights policies, but has not yet received any response.
The system will reportedly be able to identify voices in phone conversations. HRW also discovered that the Chinese police are also collecting other biometrics such as profile photos, fingerprints, urine samples and DNA, as suggested by official tender documents and police reports.
Source: Time
