INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch China Roundup, a digest of recent events shaping the Chinese tech landscape and what they mean to
people in the rest of the world
This week, a lawsuit sparked a debate over the deployment of China pervasive facial recognition; meanwhile, in some good news, foreigners in
China can finally experience cashless payment just like locals.
China first lawsuit against face scans
Many argue that China holds an unfair
advantage in artificial intelligence because of its citizens& willingness to easily give up personal data desired by tech companies
But a handful of people are surely getting more privacy-conscious.
This week, a Chinese law professor filed what looks like the country
first lawsuit against the use of AI-powered face scans, according to Qianjiang Evening News, a local newspaper in the eastern province of
In dispute is the decision by a privately-owned zoo to impose mandatory facial recognition on admission control for all annual pass
holders.
&I&ve always been conservative about gathering facial biometrics data
The collection and use of facial biometrics involve very uncertain security risks,& the professor told the paper, adding that he nonetheless
would accept such requirement from the government for the purpose of &public interest.&
Both the government and businesses in China have
aggressively embraced facial recognition in wide-ranging scenarios, be it to aid public security checks or speed up payments at supermarket
The technology will certainly draw more scrutiny from the public as it continues to spread
Already, the zoo case is garnering considerable attention
On Weibo, China equivalent of Twitter, posts about the suit have generated some 100 million views and 10,000 comments in less than a week
Many share the professors& concerns over potential leaks and data abuse.
Scan and pay like a local
The other technology that has become
ubiquitous in China is cashless payments
For many years, foreign visitors without a Chinese bank account have not been able to participate in the scan-and-pay craze that received
extensive coverage in the west
But the fences are now down.
This week, two of the country largest payment systems announced almost at the same time that they are making it
easier for foreigners to pay through their smartphones
Visitors can now pay at a selection of Chinese merchants after linking their overseas credit cards backed by Visa, MasterCard, American
Express, Discover Global Network or JCB to Tencent WeChat Pay.
&This is to provide travelers, holding 2.6 billion Mastercard cards around
the world, with the ability to make simple and smart payments anytime, anywhere in China,& Mastercard said in a company statement.
Alipay,
Alibaba affiliate, now also allows foreign visitors to top up RMB onto a prepaid virtual card issued by Bank of Shanghai with their
international credit or debit cards
The move is a boon to the large swathes of foreign tourists in China, which numbered 141 million in 2018.
We heard you
You want to use @Alipay and guess what? Now you can! Visitors to China are now able to #PayWithAlipay
Simply download @Alipay via app stores to start enjoying wallet-free travel! That QR code by the cashier will no longer be a foreign sight
pic.twitter.com/E8zmCovCJ7
— Alipay (@Alipay) November 5, 2019
Also worth your attention
Didi controversial carpooling service is finally
back this week, more than a year after the feature was suspended following two murders of female passengers
But the company, which has become synonymous with ride-hailing, was immediately put in the hot seat again
The relaunched feature noticeably included a curfew on women, who are only able to carpool between 5 a.m
The public lambasted the decision as humiliating and discriminating against women, and Didi responded swiftly to extend the limit to both
The murders were a huge backlash for the company, and it since tried to allay the concerns
At this point, the ride-hailing giant simply can&t afford another publicity debacle.
The government moves to stamp out monopolistic
practices of some of China largest e-commerce platforms ahead of Single Day, the country busiest shopping festival
Merchants have traditionally been forced to be an exclusive supplier for one of these giants, but Beijing wants to put a stop to it and
summoned Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo (in Chinese) and other major retail players for talks on anti-competition this week.
Iqiyi, often hailed
as the &Netflix of China,& reports widening net loss at $516.0 million in the third quarter ending September 30
The good news is it has added 25 million new subscribers to its video streaming platform
99.2% of its 105.8 million user base are now paying members.
36Kr, one of China most prominent tech news sites, saw its shares tumble 10% in
its Nasdaq debut on Friday
The company generates revenue from subscriptions, advertisements and enterprise &value-added& services
The last segment, according to its prospectus, is designed to &help established companies increase media exposure and brand awareness.&
