According to a report that the market research institute IDC released on January 30, the deployment of video surveillance cameras in China will reach 2.76 billion units by 2022. With nearly 1.4 billion Chinese, on average, each person will “own” two surveillance cameras. The report also said that, in the next few years, China will spend another $30 billion on improving the technical capabilities of tracking activities .
China has become the world’s largest market for security and surveillance technology. Research firm IHS Markit predicts that China will purchase three-quarters of the servers used for facial recognition in video footage.
In recent years, with the advancement of smart city projects, the public video surveillance network has achieved rapid development. At present, facial recognition systems have been deployed in streets and alleys across China, recording every move that the people make. The government calls it a “smart city.” China has also built the world’s largest video surveillance system, which can accurately identify a pedestrian’s age, gender, and dress.
After the completion of China’s huge video surveillance system “Skynet Project,” another “Bright-as-Snow Project” targeting rural areas started last year and, for the first time, was included in the “No. 1 Document” of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee. A Guangdong company launched a monitoring system for the “Bright-as-Snow Project,” which uses home TVs and smart phones to deliver surveillance videos to the house.
Source: Radio Free Asia, February 4, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql1-02042019104522.html