- China is reportedly planning to create a metaverse-based digital identity system
- According to a recent report, China intends to host its social credit system in the virtual world
- The proposal was presented by state-owned China Mobile
China continues increasing its involvement in the blockchain world with a proposed plan to create a metaverse-based digital identity system to power its social credit system in the virtual world. The proposal was presented by state-owned China Mobile and comes three months after the country announced a national blockchain center, although some fear that it could be used to track citizens’ behavior in the physical and virtual worlds.
Matching Citizens’ Physical and Virtual Behaviors
According to China Mobile the system will encompass all users in blockchain-powered virtual spaces with an intention of keeping track of their behaviors in those spaces and in the physical world.
The proposal resembles the current social credit system that the country uses to gauge a citizen’s trustworthiness before qualifying or disqualifying them for some services.
From the proposal, it looks like China intends to track citizen’s behavior in the physical and virtual worlds, something that some experts think is China’s way of controlling activities in the metaverse.
According to the proposal, the telecom also intends to permanently store the data with the option to share it with security agencies when required in a bid to secure the virtual spaces.
One way that China Mobile intends to use the system to safeguard metaverse users is by involving law enforcers in case it notes unethical behavior.
A Violation of Privacy and Freedom
According to experts, the proposal, if implemented, can violate metaverse users’ privacy and “freedom to connect.” The proposal adds to China’s intentions to keep tabs on what’s happening in the country’s virtual space.
The country’s Hainan province, for example, has in the past indicated plans to police its NFT market to weed out bad actors. Despite China embracing blockchain technology, it still maintains a blanket ban on crypto-related activities.
Since China likes to keep things under control, it’s likely to implement the proposal within its borders.
