The Surveillance Era: 2017

2017

September 12, 2017. Identity. Apple Announces Face ID. Apple introduces Face ID with the iPhone X at a media event at its new Cupertino headquarters. The iPhone X goes on sale on November 3, 2017. Face ID uses infrared dot projection and machine learning to map and authenticate a user’s face, replacing the fingerprint-based Touch ID. The first mass-market deployment of facial recognition as a consumer authentication system, normalizing biometric identity verification for hundreds of millions of people and establishing the behavioral template that airport security, stadium access, and payment verification systems subsequently adopt. Apple Newsroom

2017. China. Rongcheng Social Credit Pilot Reaches Full Operational Scale. Rongcheng, a city of 740,000 adults in Shandong province, operates the most comprehensive individual citizen-scoring pilot in China, with 142 government departments collaborating on a system that assigns every resident a starting score of 1,000 points. Points are deducted for traffic violations, tax non-compliance, and other documented infractions. Points are added for charitable acts, caring for elderly family members, and documented civic behavior. High scorers receive benefits including favorable loan terms, reduced heating costs, and faster access to public services. Low scorers face restrictions on permits and travel. The system becomes the most widely cited example in Western media coverage of China’s social credit architecture, and the most accurate documented parallel to the algorithmic scoring systems operating in the United States through FICO, tenant screening companies, and insurance scoring. Foreign Policy