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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese citizens can avoid providing explicit personal information to internet service providers by using "cyberspace identifiers."
On July 15, 2025, China enacted the Regulations on the Public Service Related to Cyberspace Identifiers. This step is aimed at promoting cyberspace identifiers and strengthening the protection of personal information privacy online.
According to the document, an online identifier operates in two forms: one as a set of letters and numbers, and the other as an online account. Both correspond to a person’s real identity, but exclude any information in plain text.
If an Internet user decides to use a cyberspace identifier to register and verify his or her identity, the relevant Internet service provider shall not require him or her to provide additional information in plain text unless this is provided for by laws and administrative regulations or without the user's consent.
Citizens will no longer be forced to provide personal information such as ID card numbers or real names to internet service providers when they register for services or verify their identity.
According to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), more than 6 million Chinese citizens have received and activated digital IDs since the introduction of the online service.
HEADACHE OF THE CHINESE POPULATION
For many years, the Chinese have suffered from telephone and Internet fraud, as well as from spam calls and spam messages. Such forms of fraud include various deception schemes, as well as auto-dialing of subscribers to random numbers: a person picks up the phone and hears a pre-recorded voice message with an offer to buy an apartment, take out a loan, and so on. Another concern is that when making calls, scammers or spammers can accurately name a person's first and last name, and sometimes even an ID number.
According to a 2024 study on spam calls in China by analytics company iiMedia Research, more than 91 percent of subscribers reported receiving calls from scammers and spammers.
In particular, about 56 percent of subscribers received unwanted phone calls less than 10 times a day, and about 27 percent received unwanted phone calls 10-15 times a day. The share of subscribers who received such calls 16-20 times a day accounted for 10 percent.
He Yanzhe, an employee of the China Institute of Electronic Technology Standardization, noted that some organizations do not implement security measures such as authentication and access control when setting up data transmission interfaces, which allows hackers to intercept the interface and obtain data in real time.
Lao Dongyang, a professor at Tsinghua University School of Law, said some information collection agencies require users or consumers to provide “authorization packages” for various reasons including “improving service quality,” which is the main reason for data leaks.
LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT
The regulations on public service related to cyberspace identifiers, issued in May this year, are China's latest effort to combat cyber fraud and spam calls.
In June 2023, China established a government service platform for issuing digital identification documents based on the verification of their real counterparts, such as the ID card and the national demographic information database.
The National Cyberspace Personal Identifier Platform will only collect personal information that is strictly necessary for online authentication purposes, the rules say.
In accordance with the “minimum and necessary” principle, the cyberspace identifier platform will only provide the results of the verification to the ISPs. In cases where the retention of the user’s real identity information is required by law, the platform must do so only with the explicit consent of that user.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the official mobile application for registration and verification of online IDs has been downloaded over 16 million times. In addition, registration of a digital personal ID is voluntary.
In China, the Telecommunications and Internet Fraud Prevention Law came into effect on December 1, 2022.
The law stipulates that public security organs shall cooperate with relevant government departments and enterprises to establish an early warning and suppression system for fraud, and take timely measures to prevent potential victims from falling into the traps of telecommunications and online fraudsters.
According to the law, those who travel to regions where telecommunications fraud is serious and are suspected of being involved in fraudulent activity, as well as those who have been convicted and punished for telecommunications and online fraud, may be prohibited from leaving the country.
THE PRACTICE OF REMAINING STRUGGLE
In practice, the National Telecommunication and Internet Fraud Control Center of China has developed its official mobile application. This application can recognize suspicious calls, messages, websites or applications and promptly warn the user about possible data leaks.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to combat fraud in China is also impressive. In one case reported to police in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, East China, it took just 10 minutes to track the movement of funds and prevent the withdrawal of 500,000 yuan. Eight hours later, the suspects were located overseas, and 24 hours later, an online arrest warrant was issued. Using AI, police arrested nine suspects and returned more than 70 percent of the stolen funds to the victim within three days.
According to He Yongliang, an official with the Kunshan City Public Security Bureau, police efficiency has increased more than sixfold thanks to the creation of an “AI police team” comprising 30 digital officers who assist in analyzing victim reports, tracking suspects and conducting investigations.
“Since their implementation, 609 fraud cases have been detected, and the total amount of funds recovered was 32.47 million yuan,” he added.
Another area of combating telecommunications and Internet fraud in China is strengthening international cooperation in this area.
In November 2024, the PRC MoS announced that all major telecom fraud centers located in northern Myanmar near the China-Myanmar border had been neutralized.
More than 53,000 Chinese nationals suspected of fraud have been arrested through joint efforts by Chinese and Myanmar police since the MDS launched a special campaign in 2023 to crack down on telecom fraud in northern Myanmar targeting China and its nationals, the ministry said in a statement.
Despite all these efforts, attackers and spammers are updating their “toolkits” to include AI technologies. Several major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Hangzhou, have already reported scams that involve fake faces or voice synthesis using AI technology.
Some experts believe that mirror measures can be taken to combat these problems – by expanding the use of AI technologies to promptly identify and stop illegal activities.
For example, Chinese brand Honor officially launched the world's first AI-based fraud detection technology at the device level in September last year. The technology, based on a deep learning model, can identify fake AI-generated content in real time by analyzing facial features and behavior patterns in an image. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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