China Telecom’s new ad shows 5G aiding snoopy neighbors with facial recognition

In 2017, a friend of mine moved into a new apartment in Beijing. After moving, an old lady stopped by to take a look. My friend didn’t think much of it at the time, but not long after she left, the police came knocking on his door.

This was no coincidence. This was the work of the so-called Chaoyang Masses. This group of elderly neighborhood volunteers named after Beijing's Chaoyang district is tasked with informing the police about suspicious behavior in exchange for rewards. And apparently China Telecom, one of the country's largest state-owned internet providers, wants people to know that 5G networks will make it even easier to snitch on their neighbors.

Why 5G isn't just faster video streaming on your smartphone

A new commercial from the telecom provider shows three neighborhood aunties idling on a street while a couple of suspicious-looking men walk together with a motorcycle. One of the eagle-eyed ladies takes out her phone and scans the men's faces, matching them with some kind of database. After the results are in, the ad’s heroine calls the cops with the tap of a button.

China Telecom told us that the application shown in the ad isn't real and that it has no plans to develop such an app. The ad was meant to demonstrate the high speeds and low latency of 5G technology, a spokesperson said.