“Police across China are buying software and equipment to tap mobile phones as President Xi Jinping tightens control of public opinion and the spread of information,” Lulu Yilun Chen reports for Bloomberg. “The police department of the Wenzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone said it spent 149,000 yuan ($24,000) to buy equipment, including what it called Trojan Horse software, from a state-owned technology company, according to a post on its website today. The software is used to monitor calls, texts and photos on smartphones, it said in the post, which was removed after gaining attention on Chinese social media.”
“The purchases shed light on the extent to which China monitors its citizens’ personal information amid a broader government clampdown on Internet freedom,” Chen reports. “Provincial governments and police departments in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia are seeking to buy similar software to gather information from mobile devices, according to procurement lists on their websites.”
“In a procurement list for information-gathering devices, police in Shandong province sought equipment to gather mobile information on phone contact lists, call records, texts, calendars and social media records, including those for Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. Both services are blocked in China,” Chen reports. “The department also sought to collect information deleted from mobile phones.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Shocker.
Sound, ethical governments do not need to control public opinion.
No wonder they promote the hell out of Android phones in China. Smart Chinese citizens use iPhones and iPads.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
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Shocked, shocked I am that spying is going on here!
Is anyone surprised? At least they’re open about it.
You inferred it. I’ll say it.
Unlike the NSA.
Zackly! Everyone from the federal government to local police departments are whining about Apple’s improved security.
US NSA semi-openly spy on US citizens and not-so-openly spy on some foreign governments (even allies), calls, texts, e-mail communications, and only God knows what else.
Yes, US police wants to search your cell phone without a warrant.
At least their police are open about it. Police across the United States purchase and use fake cell tower devices, which allow them to spy on any cell phone communication in their radius, without acquiring warrants or judicial oversight of any kind. Police departments across the country refuse to confirm, deny, or discuss the use of such devices with anyone.
According to my dictionary this is not spying. It mentions something like “Watching secretly”.
Meanwhile this headline from Bloomberg: “New York Prosecutor Calls for Law to Fight Apple Data Encryption.”
#MyStupidGovernment demanding the right to decay into a state of China.
:-Q*****
First visit to China this September. Not for me. Life in China is disturbing… Period.
I’m sure glad I live in the land of the free where this spying on citizens stuff never happens. Oh wait…..
The chinese tell their people they are being spied. The county police 2 miles away from my house use a phony cell phone tower to intercept all calls it was just discovered. It’s portable so they even take it to sporting events, etc.
China: Criminal Nation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world imitates China.
Bad move world.
Very bad move.
I’m quite surprised, just spying. I did not read a thing about industrial espionage, industrial sabotage, nothing about them torturing people and holding them for years. Gee they did not even mention the invasion of Tibet. At least they haven’t dropped any nuclear on unarmed civilians. Saves them from being the bottom of the barrel.
Oh wait it’s Bloomberg news, right. When you have jouranalists and analysts of that calibre your brainwashing propaganda techniques are well infused before adulthood.