Apple to make iPhone 14 in India in shift away from China

Yahoo – AFP, September 2022 

Apple will manufacture its new flagship smartphone in India, the US tech giant said Monday, as it seeks to diversify production away from a dependence on China. 

The iPhone supply chain is based mainly in China but the country's zero-Covid policies and tensions with the United States have hurt production, analysts say. 

"We're excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India," Apple said in a brief statement. 

The California-based firm already makes older iPhone models in India via Taiwanese manufacturers such as Foxconn, which has a factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. 

The latest announcement comes just weeks after Apple launched new smartphones. The tech behemoth is commencing production of the iPhone 14 in India much earlier than it did for previous models, Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said. 

"Over the last couple of years, it has been increasingly diversifying its supply chain to India," Chaurasia told AFP. 

About 7.5 million iPhones -- around three percent of Apple's global production -- were made in India last year, the analyst added. 

"We expect that the local production of iPhones could reach more than 11 million this year," he said. 

Apple's announcement will be a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" strategy under which he has urged foreign businesses to manufacture goods in the South Asian nation.

EU agrees single charger standard, in blow to Apple

Yahoo – AFP, Alex PIGMAN, June 7, 2022

 

European officials on Tuesday agreed the text of a proposed EU law imposing a standard charger for smartphones, tablets and laptops sold in the bloc, in a blow to Apple. 

EU member states and MEPs believe a standard cable for all devices will cut back on electronic waste, but iPhone juggernaut Apple argues a one-size-fits-all charger would slow innovation and create more pollution. 

For most portable devices the requirement for charging via a USB Type-C port will come into effect from late 2024, negotiators said, while laptops will be given more time. 

The USB-C rule will also stretch to digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable speakers and E-readers, they said. 

Lawmakers agreed on the common charger based on a proposal that was made by the EU executive -- the European Commission -- in September, but came more than a decade after the European Parliament first pushed for it. 

The decision will be formally ratified by European Parliament and among EU member states later this year before entering into effect. 

"We have been able to do it in nine months, that means that we can ... move fast when there is a political will," the EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said. 

"We are able to say to the lobbies, 'sorry, but here it is Europe and we're working for our people'," he said. 

The 27-nation union is home to 450 million people, some of the world's richest consumers, and the imposition of the USB-C as standard could affect the entire global market. 

"This is a rule which will apply to everyone," said MEP Alex Agius Saliba, who led the negotiations for the European Parliament. 

"If Apple ... or anyone wants to market their product, sell their products within our internal market, they have to abide by our rules and their device has to be USB-C," he said. 

The rules will also give shoppers the option to opt out of receiving a new charging cable when purchasing an electronic device. 

'Planning ahead'

And in order to prepare for the future, the law has provisions to set a standard on wireless charging. 

This was "not to end up ... legislating for a technology which is basically dying out, so we are also planning ahead," Saliba said. 

Apple, which already uses USB-C connectors on some of its iPads and laptop computers, has insisted any legislation to force a universal charger for all mobiles in the European Union is unwarranted. 

"The proposal is vastly disproportionate to any perceived problem," the company said in its response to the commission when the law was being drafted. 

Imposing a charger standard, it argued, would stifle innovation and "reduce European consumer choice by removing more affordable older models from the market". 

Consumers currently have to decide between phones served by three main chargers: "Lightning" for Apple handsets, the micro-USB widely used on most other mobile phones and the newer USB-C that is increasingly coming into use. 

That range is already greatly simplified from 2009, when dozens of different types of chargers were bundled with mobile phones, creating piles of electronic garbage when users changed brands.

In making its proposal last year, the EU said the current situation remained wasteful and that European consumers spent approximately 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) annually on standalone chargers they bought separately. 

The European Commission had long defended a voluntary agreement it made with the device industry that was set in place in 2009 and saw a big reduction in cables, but Apple refused to abide by it.

Anti-5G activists go to court to stop ‘gamble with public health’

DutchNews, May 5, 2020 

A Dutch courtroom. Photo: Odi Busman

A group of anti-5G activists went to court on Monday in an effort to stop the nationwide roll-out of the faster telecommunications system. 

The group, Stop5GNL, argues that the government is taking a gamble by sanctioning the roll-out even though it has not been established that the technology does not form any risk to public health. 

‘This is unethical. You do not gamble with the health of the public,’ lawyer Thom Beukers said during Monday’s hearing in The Hague. 

According to the foundation, ‘thousands’ of academic publications and research projects raise at least doubts about whether the electromagnetic radiation used by 5G services could lead to a risk to health. 

The foundation has also stressed it has no connection to the recent wave of arson attacks on telecom masts. 

Although the public health institute RIVM and the national health council have both said that 5G will not expose people to higher than permitted levels of electromagnetic radiation, the council is working on a new report, ordered by parliament, the Volkskrant has reported. 

The results of that report are due in July. 

And in January, Telecoms supervisory body Agenschap Telecom and the RIVM said that while radiation from 5G mobile networks testing sites in the Netherlands is within European limits, it does need to monitored as telecoms providers prepare to activate the new mobile core networks. 

Some 15 licences for testing sites have been granted in the Netherlands and random testing of five sites has not produced worrying levels of radiation, the report published by both organisations said. It is important, however, to ‘keep a finger on the pulse’. 

The court will rule on the case on May 25.

Covid-19: Nearly two million Australians download coronavirus tracker app

The Star – AFP, Monday, 27 Apr 2020

The new COVIDSafe app by the Australian government as seen on a smartphone
in Sydney. More than one million Australians have downloaded a new government
smartphone app designed to make coronavirus contact tracing easier, as the country
moves to ease stay-at-home restrictions. — AFP

SYDNEY: Nearly two million Australians rushed to download a new smartphone app designed to make coronavirus contact tracing easier, the government said Monday, overlooking privacy concerns in the hope of speeding up the end of social-distancing lockdowns.

Health Minister Greg Hunt hailed take-up since the app was released Sunday evening as "extraordinary", saying 1.9 million people had downloaded the program in less than 24 hours.

The nation of 25 million people has uncovered just over 6,700 instances of coronavirus, with the rate of new cases falling to 10-20 per day despite widespread testing.

Like governments around the world, Australian authorities are under growing pressure to ease restrictions on travel and public gatherings imposed to halt the spread of the virus, but which have devastated the economy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said many of the restrictions, which include a ban on travel to Australia by non-residents, will last until at least September.

But he has said some easing could begin sooner if authorities can expand testing for the virus and improve tracing to catch new outbreaks quickly.

Experts heralded the new COVIDSafe app as a key way to implement the contact tracing.

The app works by using smartphones' Bluetooth function to detect other users nearby.

If a user tests positive, anyone who has been in close proximity can then be notified, making rapid tracking of the disease much easier.

The system is seen as a key stepping stone to removing social distancing restrictions that have shuttered bars, restaurants, offices and most classrooms for the last month.

There has been widespread concern about what Morrison's conservative government – which has a record of pushing the boundaries of civil rights protections – would do with the data.

But Hunt and other officials were at pains Monday to stress the app is not a location tracker and that only state health authorities will use the data.

"This is simply about helping us find and alert anybody who may have been exposed to the virus," Hunt said.

"It means that they can be diagnosed and protected earlier, and it can protect our nurses and our doctors, our seniors and our vulnerable Australians."

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has said a "good take-up" of the app would be just over 50% of the population.

Release of the app was welcomed by Australia's Rugby Union authority, which like other professional sports is in dire economic straits after having to suspend all competitions.

Rugby Australia chief Paul McLean said the app would "provide the best opportunity for us, as a community, to move more quickly to reduce restrictions... and allow our Rugby clubs to get back to training and playing".

In parallel with the app's release, Australian authorities have significantly ramped up testing for the coronavirus, making the tests available to anyone with flu-like symptoms.

Some Australian states with zero new coronavirus cases have already announced an easing of stay-at-home restrictions.

In the country's most populous state of New South Wales, most restrictions are set to remain in place until least mid-May, although Sydney's famed Bondi Beach will reopen Tuesday for surfing and swimming.

Dutch see apps as key to relaxing lockdown, tracing corona suspects

DutchNews, April 7, 2020

Reporters listen during the press conference. Photo: Bart Maat ANP

The Netherlands is looking into introducing two apps as a key part of controlling the spread of coronavirus, prime minister Mark Rutte and health minister Hugo de Jonge told a press conference on Tuesday evening.

‘Experts tell us that identifying sources and tracing contacts will be crucial for relaxing the rules, without over-taxing hospitals,’ Rutte said. ‘But it is still early days and privacy is key,’ the prime minister said. 

The apps, one of which would alert people via bluetooth if they had been in contact with someone who had coronavirus, and a second which would keep potential patients in touch with doctors, are currently being further researched, Rutte said. 

The apps will form part of the more intensive testing strategy which is currently being introduced. They would, in effect, take over some of the work of local health boards which do not have the capacity to trace all potential coronavirus contacts. 

Compulsory 

Asked if people would be forced to install the apps on their phones, health minister De Jonge said it would be important that as many people as possible used them.

‘There is no point in carrying out all the testing if you don’t do anything with the results,’ he said. ‘We are looking at whether you can require everyone to do it.’ Contact tracing is still being done in the north of the country where there are relatively few coronavirus cases, the minister said.

Government press conference in the Netherlands on Corona measures. Announcement of contact tracing app which 'will have to respect privacy', but no explanation of privacy engineering that can/will be applied. Only specialists understand, so now good chunk of NL freaks out...

— Joris van Hoboken (@jorisvanhoboken) April 7, 2020

Both Rutte and De Jonge emphasised that despite promising figures in terms of hospital and intensive care admissions, it is still too early to say if the ‘intelligent lockdown’ in the Netherlands will be gradually eased from April 28, when the current deadline expires. 

‘The figures show we are not doing this for nothing, but we could not make a bigger mistake than to relax the rules in one go,’ Rutte said. ‘We will then hit a new and bigger peak in infections.’ 

What we are doing now is crucial for our economic recovery, he said. ‘We are looking at scenarios for an intelligent way back. Everyone should start thinking about how we can further adapt to the 1.5 metre society. The way back will be step by step and based on science.’

South Korea reports lowest new virus infections in days

Yahoo – AFP, March 8, 2020

Few worshippers attended Sunday services at the Yeouido Full Gospel Church in
Seoul, choosing instead to follow online from home (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Seoul (AFP) - Hundreds of churches across South Korea closed their doors Sunday and held online services as the country reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week.

South Korea -- which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases outside China with 7,313 -- added 272 new cases Sunday, far below daily increases of around 500 recently.

Two more people died, bringing the death toll to 50, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Despite the smaller rise in COVID-19 cases, we are not at a point where we can say the situation has improved," said health minister Park Neung-hoo.

Medics wearing protective gear carry a patient infected with the COVID-19 virus 

to hospital in Seoul (AFP Photo)

"Small cluster infections can emerge at any time in closed spaces like group facilities or religious events," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong told reporters.

Yoido Full Gospel Church -- the largest Protestant Church in South Korea with around 560,000 registered members -- was among hundreds of churches that held online services on Sunday.

"Although it is the rule to come to church for service, this is an emergency situation," said elder Kim Doo-young.

"Even though they are attending the service from home, we have asked members to dress and worship in the same manner as they would at Church," Kim told AFP.

A church service is live-streamed by phone in Seoul (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Most of the country's infections are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious sect often condemned as a cult.

One of its members attended at least four services before being diagnosed.

Scores of events -- from K-pop concerts to sports matches -- have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion, with school and kindergarten breaks extended by three weeks nationwide.

EU announces strict 5G rules, but no Huawei ban

Yahoo – AFP, Damon WAKE, January 29, 2020

The EU commission's middle road 5G recommendations give cover to European
capitals to resist US pressure (AFP Photo/JUSTIN TALLIS)

EU countries could ban telecoms operators deemed a security risk from critical parts of 5G infrastructure under guidelines issued Wednesday, amid US pressure to shut out Chinese giant Huawei.

The EU plan, which closely mirrors rules set out Tuesday by Britain allowing a limited role for Huawei, stops short of barring the company from the next-generation communications network designed for near-instantaneous data transfers.

It leaves member states with the responsibility to ensure the safe rollout of 5G and warns them to screen operators carefully, saying security of the network will be critically important for the entire EU.

The so-called "toolbox" outlined by the European Commission avoids naming Huawei and does not call for an outright ban on any supplier.

But it urges countries to "assess the risk profile of suppliers (and)... apply relevant restrictions for suppliers considered to be high risk" accordingly, including shutting them out of "key assets defined as critical and sensitive".

It also recommends EU states avoid "major dependency on a single supplier" and "dependency on suppliers considered to be high risk".

The guidelines are the fruit of months of agonising within the EU, which has struggled to find a middle way to balance Huawei's dominance in the 5G sector with the security concerns pressed by Washington.

Any bans on Huawei will now ultimately be up to individual member states, but the commission's middle road recommendations give cover to European capitals to resist pleas from Washington.

Huawei welcomed the guidelines, saying they would allow it to continue playing a role in Europe's 5G rollout.

"This non-biased and fact-based approach towards 5G security allows Europe to have a more secure and faster 5G network," the company said in a statement.

"Huawei has been present in Europe for almost 20 years and has a proven track record with regard to security. We will continue to work with European governments and industry to develop common standards to strengthen the security and reliability of the network."

Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the single market, said the bloc would not target any company, stressing that the new system was based on "objective criteria".

"We in Europe accept everyone but we have rules -- these rules are clear and exacting," he told reporters.

'No safe option'

London's announcement on Tuesday of a limited role for Huawei infuriated Washington, which says the company cannot be trusted with such important infrastructure because it is too close to the Beijing government.

Britain, like the EU, plans to exclude risky operators from "sensitive" locations such as nuclear sites and military bases, but US officials insist there was "no safe option" for Huawei to control any part of the network.

The US has said the possibility of China using its commercial presence to spy on Britain -- or even shut down the network -- could force Washington to stop sharing intelligence with London.

"Our view of Huawei is putting it in your system creates real risk. This is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party with a legal requirement to hand over information to the Chinese Community Party," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday during a visit to London.

"We'll evaluate what the United Kingdom did.... But our view is we should have Western systems with Western rules and American information should only pass across a trusted network. We'll make sure we do that."

Huawei is widely viewed as providing the most advanced alternative for super-fast data transfers behind technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots.

Along with European telecom companies Nokia and Ericsson, it is one of the few suppliers capable of building 5G networks.

The commission warned that 5G will offer "more potential entry points" for cyber attacks -- a growing threat as more and more critical services such as hospitals and power grids depend on data networks.

"5G will be a ground-breaking technology but it cannot come at the expense of the security of our internal market," commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas said in a statement.

"The toolbox is an important step in what must be a continuous effort in the EU's collective work to better protect our critical infrastructures."

Doubts about Huawei come amid a more general anxiety about Beijing's growing presence in the EU, where a growing number of countries in the east are opening the door to Chinese investment in infrastructure.

With the job of vetting prospective 5G suppliers left to member states, there will be questions about whether all have the capacity or political willingness to carry out the job thoroughly, particularly if it might involve embarrassing a major partner such as China.

UK approves restricted 5G role for China's Huawei

Yahoo – AFP, Roland JACKSON, January 28, 2020

Huawei has been given a limited role in the roll-out of Britain's 5G network
(AFP Photo/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS)

London (AFP) - Britain on Tuesday gave the green light to a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the country's 5G network, in a decision that left the United States "disappointed" after it called for a total ban.

Even though London decided that "high risk vendors" would be excluded from Britain's "sensitive" core infrastructure, a US official insisted there was "no safe option for untrusted vendors to control any part of a 5G network", which offers almost instantaneous data transfer.

Washington has banned Huawei from the roll-out of the fifth generation mobile network because of concerns that the firm could be under the control of Beijing, an allegation it strongly denies.

The announcement came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week for talks in London likely to focus on Huawei and as Britain looks for a trade deal with Washington after Brexit.

The United States had threatened to limit intelligence-sharing with London in the event of Huawei winning a UK role.

But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliament: "Nothing in this review affects this country's ability to share highly sensitive intelligence data over highly secured networks.

"GCHQ (Britain's cybersecurity agency) have categorically confirmed that how we construct our 5G and full-fibre public telecoms network has nothing to do with how we share classified data."

Johnson spoke to US President Donald Trump and "underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies", the British government said.

Balancing act

London's decision -- following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by Johnson -- came shortly after Brussels said it would also allow Huawei a limited 5G role in the European Union.

Brussels and London are both grappling to find a middle way to balance Huawei's huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns, as they look to improve connectivity.

Britain's Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan insisted: "High risk vendors never have been and never will be in our most sensitive networks."

But that failed to convince Washington, where a senior administration official said the United States was "disappointed by the UK's decision".

The fifth generation or 5G mobile networks will offer super-fast data transfer for 

technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots 

(AFP Photo/Justin TALLIS)

Meanwhile, research group GlobalData said a limited role for Huawei allowed "the UK to bow in part" to the US.

"A total ban would have required massive amounts of infrastructure to be torn out at eye-watering expense, and would have set the UK's 5G roll-out back by years.

"It was simply never a practical option to ban Huawei completely," it added in a note.

Unlike the United States, Britain has been using Huawei technology in its systems for the past 15 years.

Intelligence sharing

Analysts Fitch warned that the US could look to retaliate.

"The US has been putting a lot of pressure on its allies to ban Huawei, and failure to do so will raise questions about its strategy, as we expect it will look to retaliate, with threats to stop intelligence-sharing already made," Fitch said Tuesday.

London's move excludes Huawei from sensitive UK locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases, while their market share will be capped.

Huawei itself welcomed the news that it would have at least a part in building Britain's 5G networks.

"Huawei is reassured by the UK government's confirmation that we can continue working with our customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track," said Huawei Vice-President Victor Zhang.

Brussels also ruled out banning the company. A top EU official said instead it was "a question of laying down rules".

"They will be strict, they will be demanding and of course we will welcome in Europe all operators who are willing to apply them," the official said.

Huawei is widely viewed as providing the most advanced alternative for super-fast data transfers behind technologies such as self-driving cars and remotely operated factory robots.

Existing providers of limited 5G network infrastructure in Britain include Nokia and Ericsson.

A number of UK mobile phone operators, including EE and Vodafone, currently sell 5G services -- but it is so far available only in a handful of cities, notably London and Birmingham.

5G radiation ‘within EU limits’ but more research needed: report

DutchNews, January 21, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Telecoms supervisory body Agenschap Telecom and health watchdog RIVM have said radiation from 5G mobile networks testing sites in the Netherlands is within European limits but needs to monitored as telecoms providers prepare to activate the new mobile core networks.

Some 15 licences for testing sites have been granted in the Netherlands and random testing of five sites has not produced worrying levels of radiation, a report published by both organisations said.  It is important, however, to ‘keep a finger on the pulse’. 

The arrival of 5G networks has caused unrest because of uncertainties about the possible harmful effects of radiation on health and in September hundreds of people took to the streets of The Hague in protest. Experts said at the time that no connection has been established between radiation from phones and effects on health. 

The RIVM and the Agentschap Telecom said it is important to continue monitoring and that although there is no proof this type of radiation is dangerous there are no research data in place pertaining to ‘complex, realistic exposure situations’. 

‘Whether or not insights into the effects on health will change will have to become clear with time,’ the report said.The Netherlands does not have a national guideline where radiation limits are concerned although the government is contemplating putting a legal exposure norm in place, the report said. 

Providers KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone are all planning to roll out their 5G networks in the next few years which, the organisations say, necessitates more research. 

The measures that were done are seen as a starting point and will be the first of many, the RIVM said. In total radiation emitted by 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G is measured  70 times a year.

More Dutch pensioners are active online, desktop computers are out of favour

DutchNews, January 20, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The number of pensioners using Facebook and the like has almost doubled since 2014 and over three-quarters of 65 to 75-year-olds now use social media, according to new research by national statistics agency CBS. 

The number of over-75s on social media has also soared from 13% in 2014 to 40% now, the CBS said. 

Smartphones have also taken over from laptops as the most used method of going online. In 2014, 74% of the over-12s in the Netherlands had a smartphone but that has now risen to 92%. 

Desktop computers are also on their way out. In 2014, six in 10 Dutch people had a desktop but that has since shrunk to 54%.

Huawei, under US pressure, plans supply base in Europe

Yahoo – AFP, Jürgen HECKER, December 18, 2019

Huawei chairman 'would turn down' any request to spy for Chinese
intelligence (AFP Photo/JOEL SAGET)

Under pressure from US trade restrictions, Huawei plans to open a components plant in Europe, the telecom giant’s chairman told AFP, while insisting it is not in league with Chinese intelligence.

Liang Hua said in an interview that Huawei no longer needed US companies to supply it with crucial components for 5G technology, after President Donald Trump ordered American firms to cease doing business with it.

Here are excerpts from the interview, conducted at AFP's headquarters in Paris.

How are you dealing with a US ban on companies supplying Huawei with 5G components?

"In the area of 5G technology, we are already no longer dependent on the supply of chips and other components from American companies.

"But if the US government were to allow suppliers to deliver to us again, we would be ready to re-establish our cooperation with them.

"We are planning to manufacture our own components at a production site in Europe in the future.

"We are conducting a feasibility study to open a factory in Europe for this. The choice of country will depend on that study.

"We don't yet have an exact idea about the timetable for such a decision, but it could happen very quickly."

Can you guarantee that Chinese intelligence will not use Huawei to spy on other countries? 

"In the past 30 years we have never been the object of such a request. Even if one was made in the future, we would turn down such a request."

Can Huawei handsets remain competitive without Google and Android?

"The future still looks bright for our handsets. We are forecasting a shipping volume of around 245 to 250 million units for this year.

"For the export market, we are banned today from using GMS (Google Mobile Services) and its dedicated apps, and we are therefore working on developing HMS (Huawei Mobile Services) and the apps that go with it.

"We are confident that HMS and its application eco-system will continue to grow."

Will a US-China trade deal help Huawei in the American market?

"This Chinese-American confrontation, this trade war, actually has a very limited impact on Huawei’s business, given that we already had only little activity in the American market. We are more concerned about the US government’s ban on American companies selling us chips and software than about the trade war.

"This is why we are working on ensuring our survival in this context, by which I mean Huawei’s survival in the whole world, beyond the American market where we didn’t have a big presence anyway."

Will the digital world become split, with one half dominated by the US and the other by China?

"People in China will continue to use products by Apple and other tech brands. Don’t forget that there are 1.4 billion tech users in China. Even in the US, I’m certain that consumers will continue to use different systems. I am sure that the digital world of tomorrow will not be a world divided into two separate camps."

China introduces mandatory face scans for phone users

Yahoo – AFP, December 1, 2019

In September, China's information technology ministry said telecom operators
should use 'technical means' to verify phone users' identities (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

China will require telecom operators to collect face scans when registering new phone users at offline outlets starting Sunday, according to the country's information technology authority, as Beijing continues to tighten cyberspace controls.

In September, China's industry and information technology ministry issued a notice on "safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of citizens online", which laid out rules for enforcing real-name registration.

The notice said telecom operators should use "artificial intelligence and other technical means" to verify people's identities when they take a new phone number.

A China Unicom customer service representative told AFP that the December 1 "portrait matching" requirement means customers registering for a new phone number may have to record themselves turning their head and blinking.

"In next steps, our ministry will continue to...increase supervision and inspection...and strictly promote the management of real-name registration for phone users," said the September notice.

Though the Chinese government has pushed for real-name registration for phone users since at least 2013 -- meaning ID cards are linked to new phone numbers -- the move to leverage AI comes as facial recognition technology gains traction across China where the tech is used for everything from supermarket checkouts to surveillance.

Online, Chinese social media users reacted with a mix of support and worry over the December 1 facial verification notice, with some voicing concerns their biometric data could be leaked or sold.

"This is a bit too much," wrote one user on Twitter-like Weibo, commenting under an article about the new rules.

"Control, and then more control," posted another.

While researchers have warned of the privacy risks associated with gathering facial recognition data, consumers have widely embraced the technology -- though China saw one of its first lawsuits on facial recognition last month.

In early November, a Chinese professor filed a claim against a safari park in Hangzhou, eastern Zhejiang province for requiring face scans for entry, according to the local court.

In addition to mobile users, Chinese social media site Weibo was forced to roll out real-name registration in 2012.

Oversight of social media has ramped up in recent years as part of the Chinese government's push to "promote the healthy, orderly development of the Internet, protect state security and public interest".

Huawei pushes 5G in SEAsia, brushing off 'tech war' with US

Yahoo – AFP, November 3, 2019

Huawei has emerged as a key protagonist in the wider US-China trade war that
has seen tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth
of goods (AFP Photo/STEFAN WERMUTH)

Chinese phone giant Huawei said Sunday it was ready to roll out 5G infrastructure across Southeast Asia, dismissing US warnings its tech could be used to hoover up data for Beijing.

The firm has emerged as a key protagonist in the wider US-China trade war that has seen tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods.

President Donald Trump's administration has warned Huawei's equipment could allow China to spy on other countries and has effectively blocked American companies from selling US technology to the firm.

But the company has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying it is the victim of tech envy.

Thailand and the Philippines have shrugged off the cybersecurity warnings in a rush to exploit the ultra-fast 5G network promised by the China's biggest smartphone maker, while Vietnam has edged away from Huawei.

"China and the US now is in the trade war and also there is some kind of technology war (which) Huawei is very focused on at the moment," said Huawei vice-president Edward Zhou at the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) summit on Sunday.

"We are here to support the ASEAN (in) the development for the 5G."

Encompassing hundreds of millions of people, the 10-member bloc wants the next-level technology to help businesses, infrastructure and transport compete globally.

Host country Thailand has welcomed Huawei with open arms, allowing it to set up a test bed at a major university near the Thai capital.

A Huawei spokesperson previously told AFP it had invested $5 billion in the trials and has been invited to conduct similar tests in other Southeast Asian markets.

Elsewhere the Philippines' Globe Telecom said this summer it was launching Southeast Asia's first 5G broadband service using Huawei technology.

Both Thailand and the Philippines are historic US allies and some see the tangle over 5G as a challenge of influence between the two powers.

But not all countries have been eager to sign up.

Vietnam has quietly sided with the US on the issue, shunning the Chinese firm in favour of alternative providers for 5G technology, including Ericsson and Nokia.

The country's military-owned telecoms giant Viettel hopes to be the first to roll out 5G in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and has said it plans to to do so without Huawei, citing security concerns.

Zhou reiterated past statements by the company brushing aside the US claims.

"There is not any cybersecurity issues for us. There is no evidence for the US to say that," he said.