The Hong Kong government intends to implement a real-name registration system for telephone smart cards in order to strengthen the control of “space cards” and “consult the public” in this regard. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said at a press conference on Friday (29), the system to further combat the rapid rise in recent years “space card” criminal activities, including special mention of the past two years in Hong Kong, there have been four cases using “space card” equipped with remote control attempts to detonate a bomb, and the police can be in an emergency, without a court warrant to obtain user information, stressing that “absolutely no impact on law-abiding people”. However, the Honorary President of the Information Technology Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Fang Baoqiao, revealed to us that the industry has not been consulted beforehand, and the government is not able to remove the hidden worries of surveillance, and “the actual operation of adding biometric authentication is a matter of Time“. Zhou Shuguang, a well-known Internet Writer from China, said in an interview that Hong Kong is gradually cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party to establish the “Great Firewall of the Internet”.
The government held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. on Friday (29) to explain the real-name registration system for telephone smart cards. Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said the plan requires telephone smart card users to provide original and copies of identification documents, and each user can only register no more than three stored-value cards, commonly known as “space cards,” with each licensee. Youths under the age of 16 must be confirmed by a “suitable adult”, including Parents and guardians, before they can be registered as subscribers. The licensee can keep the user’s information until at least 12 months after the card is de-registered. Law enforcement agencies may request the licensee to provide information on the registration of a smart card user without a court warrant “in cases of urgency or emergency”.
Real-name registration system targets ‘space cards’
According to Yau, as of August 2020, there were more than 2,090 mobile phone users in Hong Kong, of which nearly 11.7 million, or 56 percent, were using stored-value cards, commonly known as “space cards. The use of anonymous “space card” crime reached nearly 90%, it is necessary to implement a system to combat crime. After one month of public consultation, the authorities will submit the relevant draft to the Legislative Council for consideration.
The government will submit the bill to the Legislative Council for consideration.
One of the focal points of the press conference, the real-name system to strengthen public surveillance concerns. The system is designed to help combat crime by aligning the existing “space card” with the registration of monthly fee users, and the information is kept by the telecommunication companies’ own systems, saying that there is no plan to connect law enforcement agencies to the telecommunication companies’ systems, stressing that “there is absolutely no impact on law-abiding people. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
The company said: “In fact, there is no need to worry. In fact, people who use the monthly fee have already provided personal information, including residential address. And when using the “space card”, now only provide identity information, and the information is only kept by the telecommunications provider. Only when there is a need, when there is a need for law enforcement, (law enforcement agencies) can request the relevant information. For the public, it is not very different from the current practice. Although we believe that most of the people using space cards are legitimate use, but there are 80, 90% of crime is the use of space cards as a means of (crime), if you can eliminate the difficulties of law enforcement, the vast majority of people, law-abiding people absolutely no impact, but more security.
As for the real-name system only regulates the use of phone cards in Hong Kong, was questioned by reporters can not plug most of the loopholes from overseas fraud, Deputy Secretary for Security Au Chi-kwong said that Hong Kong has a lot of criminal activities using anonymous phone cards, including telephone fraud, online shopping fraud, injury cases and debt collection involving triads, but the police, Customs, Immigration Department and the Independent Commission Against Corruption in the investigation, often constrained by the inability to trace the user, so the real-name system is still It is worth doing.
He also mentioned in particular that some overseas countries are equipped with “space cards” remote detonation of bombs, such as the 2004 Spanish train bombings and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings in the United States, Hong Kong in the past two years there have been a number of similar cases, that many countries in the world have implemented the real-name system to prevent terrorist activities, “Hong Kong this time with countries to assume responsibility for combating crime.
Au Chi-kwong said: some overseas countries, there have been people using stored value cards to detonate bombs. In Hong Kong, in 2019 to 2020, respectively, there are four similar use of stored-value card mobile phones to detonate a bomb, including Wan Chai, Mong Kok, Tin Shui Wai and Kwai Chung. I would like to emphasize the issue of explosive bomb intimidation, because the anonymity issue, not only brings inconvenience to the public, is a great threat to the safety of personal property.
Law enforcement agencies “in urgent or emergency situations” can obtain information
Many reporters asked whether the “urgent or emergency situation” referred to in the real name system, which allows law enforcement agencies to directly request access to user information, was in response to the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the demonstrations in recent years. The government said that the “urgent or emergency situation” is related to “serious crimes”, such as wounding, bomb-making, explosion, kidnapping or emergency rescue cases, which require law enforcement agencies to obtain information early.
Fang Baoqiao: Fear of law enforcement agencies to abuse the real name system
The information technology chamber of commerce honorary president Fang Baoqiao said in an interview with this station, questioning the effectiveness of the real-name system to combat fraud, now many telephone fraud mostly using virtual telephone systems or applications, and telephone stored-value card has nothing to do. He believes that the authorities need to clarify the boundary of law enforcement agencies do not need to apply for court warrants to obtain user information, otherwise it is difficult to worry that law enforcement agencies will abuse the system.
Fang Baoqiao continued to say that the new measures proposed to restrict purchases hit the industry, including the high cost of establishing a database and security system, the number of stored value card registration is reduced, while depriving the public of freedom of communication. He revealed to the station that the industry was informed of the news only on the morning of the press conference, the consultation period was too hasty, the real name registration actually has a lot of operational problems to solve, adding biometric authentication is the beginning of the early thing.
Fang Baoqiao: How does the real-name system work in practice? Is it as simple as just having an ID number and a name? It is very difficult to authenticate. The Office of Communications said that there will be no biometric authentication. But in order to do the real name system, there must be authentication sooner or later. Because someone can take my ID document and pretend to be me to register. These are to discuss, but now only about 3 weeks (consultation).
Zhou Shuguang: Hong Kong is building the Great Firewall of the Internet
The Internet activist Zhou Shuguang, who is familiar with the operation of the Internet, pointed out to this station that under the current political turmoil in Hong Kong and the total governing authority of the Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong has to be “in line with mainland China” and build the “Great Wall of the Internet” to strengthen the surveillance of the public. He disagreed with the government’s implementation of the real-name system on the grounds of combating crimes such as fraud, and believed that in the system, law enforcement agencies are disguised as “self-authorization”, no different from the implementation of the National Security Law, without a court warrant to take away the personal data of the public, towards totalitarianism.
Zhou Shuguang said: Hong Kong is gradually losing its democratic freedom, and now it is approaching China’s data authority, in addition to establishing the “Great Firewall of the Internet”, it also wants to control the cell phone card users in Hong Kong, to combat anonymous people in all aspects, without any dead ends. This is a small step towards totalitarianism in Hong Kong. If people have been enjoying the freedom of anonymity for the past 5 or 10 years, they should continue to do so. I feel that the Hong Kong government needs to censor every source of information and actively defend itself against dissident ideologies.
In neighboring Macau, the “Cyber Security Law”, described as “Cyber 23”, will be implemented in 2019, requiring cell phone users to provide real identity information and registration when purchasing telecommunications services from local telecommunications operators, including the purchase of prepaid cards for phone or Internet services, otherwise, the network operator will terminate the services.
The real-name system for cell phones in mainland China was implemented on September 1, 2010, and all cell phone numbers must be registered with real-name identification documents, otherwise they will not receive communication signals; the local upper-stage cell phone data monthly fee plans are subject to real-name authentication. 2019 onwards, the steps related to real-name authentication are mandatory to include facial recognition information, which is said to expand the scope of surveillance of the public.
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