China’s Data Watchdog Proposes Digital ID Rollout Amid Expert Backlash

China’s powerful data watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), has proposed tighter controls over users’ online information, including a nationwide rollout of digital IDs. This move, which was announced via draft regulations released last Friday, has been met with sharp pushback from leading technology experts.

According to the Financial Times, the digital IDs would be jointly administered by the CAC and China’s police. Initially, these IDs are intended to be voluntary, replacing real names and phone numbers for registration on internet platforms. However, experts express concern that this proposal could drastically extend authorities’ oversight over online behavior, potentially covering everything from internet shopping history to travel itineraries.

Tom Nunlist, associate director at China-focused consultancy Trivium, highlighted that the proposals could “significantly expand the government’s ability to monitor people’s activity online.” Nunlist added, “It would give the police much greater insight into what people are doing online.”

Currently, internet users in China must use their personal ID or phone number to register on platforms such as WeChat and Weibo. This practice enables platforms and authorities to police online activity, combat cyberbullying and censor critical discussions about the government. Nunlist pointed out that relying on personal IDs has allowed platform companies to gather user data for financial gain. He suggested that replacing personal IDs with anonymous digital ones would allow the state to monitor online activity while limiting companies’ ability to track consumer behavior.

In recent years, Beijing has cracked down on what it has termed abusive practices by internet companies collecting consumer data. This has involved issuing fines and introducing new laws governing data regulation. However, some legal scholars question the regulators’ motivations behind weakening platforms’ access to user data. Lao Dongyan, a criminal law professor at Tsinghua University, wrote on Weibo that the “claim of protecting personal information is a facade” and that the “real intention” of the draft regulations was to “regulate people’s online behavior.” She warned that the proposed system would be akin to “installing a monitor for everyone’s online behavior, with all online traces such as one’s internet search history easily collected.”

Per the Financial Times, other experts also raised concerns about whether the government is better positioned than companies to manage sensitive data. Yu Jianrong, a retired professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote on Weibo that the draft rules raised “social risks,” including the threat of criminals accessing a unified database of individual users’ internet behavior.