While the two mass biometric data collection programs in Tibet and Qinghai Province are led by Chinese public security organs, an analysis of publicly available sources from the Chinese regime shows that these programs are “unconnected to investigations into criminal or terrorist activity and do not appear to be specifically authorized by Chinese law,” according to the University of Toronto-based research institute.
“Instead, these two programs appear to be part of broader public security surveillance and social control programs.”
The special rapporteur’s report highlighted how the “weaponization” of new technologies like biometrics—measuring unique human traits such as faces, fingerprints, irises, voices, and DNA to identify or verify people—has exacerbated the harassment of civil society actors.
Organ Harvesting
The Chinese regime’s mass biometric collection extends beyond ethnic minorities and has raised concerns about its use in severe human rights abuses, including organ harvesting.
“Facial recognition technology enables cameras to quickly identify citizens. Falun Gong practitioners known to police have long been considered targets of detailed surveillance. Their biometrics and other data has been collected and stored in ‘key individual’ databases for over a decade. This facilitates cross-referencing and identification,” stated the report “Country Policy and Information Note.”
“The results of the examinations are reportedly registered in a database of living organ sources that facilitates organ allocation,” the report said.