Washington, DC: Discovery of Christian persecution in some countries using sophisticated technologies such as ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘biometrics’. The warning comes from the ‘Open Doors’, an international NGO that is monitoring religious persecution against Christians globally. According to the report, the Communist government in China, which is concerned about the growth of Christians, is monitoring more than nine billion Chinese Christians using electronic/biometric systems.
Biometric security is a technique that identifies individuals with the physical structure, dimensions, and characteristics of each individual. The Open Doors point out that many churches have already been ordered to undergo ‘facial recognition’ (the mechanism of reviewing the facial structure of each face by measuring the distance between the eyes, the beard, the nose, etc.) before entering the church. Such inspections have become a threat to believers who live close to the shrines. In addition, children under 18 years of age are not allowed to attend church.
Reports indicate that if one of these children crosses the threshold, they will be identified by the biometric/artificial intelligence system and prosecuted. In September 2018, the Chinese government implemented new guidelines to regulate the dissemination of religious information online. Religious information is permitted to be shared online only after it has been read and approved by the Religious Affairs Department of the respective province. It is strictly stated that such information can only be published on its own website.
There is also a ban on live streaming of events at the church online. Open sources say that the use of modern surveillance/identification systems to persecute Christians could have serious consequences in the context of China’s attempt to introduce a “social credit system”. In the last year alone, some 5500 shrines have been destroyed or seized in China. The Open Doors also warned that the trend of using biometric systems to persecute Christians could spread to India.
