At airports and train stations, passengers line up for face scans at gates and by officers.<\/p>\n
On the streets, cameras scan pedestrians and flag vehicles breaking traffic rules.<\/p>\n
By law, anyone registering new SIM cards in China must show themselves to a face scanning camera, the images stored in telecom databases. And until recently, Chinese authorities required most guests to scan their faces when checking in to a hotel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines from a security camera watching over the Beigulou alleyway in Beijing as a pedestrian passes, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines from a security camera watching over the Beigulou alleyway in Beijing as a pedestrian passes, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yang Guoliang, who has been under surveillance by Chinese officials after complaining about a land dispute to the central government in Beijing, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he smokes a cigarette inside his home in Changzhou in eastern China\u2019s Jiangsu Province, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n Yang Guoliang, who has been under surveillance by Chinese officials after complaining about a land dispute to the central government in Beijing, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he smokes a cigarette inside his home in Changzhou in eastern China\u2019s Jiangsu Province, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n For many, such technology has offered convenience and safety, seamlessly woven into the backdrop of their lives. But for some, it\u2019s become an intrusive form of state control.<\/p>\n Associated Press investigations have found that such surveillance systems in China were to a large degree designed and built by American companies<\/a>, playing a far greater role in enabling human rights abuses than previously known. It has cemented the rule of China\u2019s ruling Communist Party, offering it a powerful tool to control and monitor perceived threats to the state like dissidents, ethnic minorities and even its own officials.<\/p>\n Dozens who spoke to AP, from Tibetan activists to ordinary farmers to a former vice mayor<\/a>, described being tracked and monitored by vast networks of cameras that stud the country, hampering their movements and alerting the police to their activities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles passing along U.S. Highway 83, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles passing along U.S. Highway 83, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wensheng Wen, rear right, and his wife, Lou Guangyzing, along with their children Xin, 11, from right, Gehua, 9, Jinghua, 3, Rou, 6, and Younghua, 3, members of a Chinese church living in exile after fleeing from China, are illuminated by beams of pulsed laser light from a cellphone\u2019s LiDAR scanner as they sit for a photo, Oct. 12, 2025, in Midland, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Wensheng Wen, rear right, and his wife, Lou Guangyzing, along with their children Xin, 11, from right, Gehua, 9, Jinghua, 3, Rou, 6, and Younghua, 3, members of a Chinese church living in exile after fleeing from China, are illuminated by beams of pulsed laser light from a cellphone\u2019s LiDAR scanner as they sit for a photo, Oct. 12, 2025, in Midland, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n For years, such technology faced legal barriers in the country where it was first developed, the United States. But over the past five years, the U.S. Border Patrol has vastly expanded its surveillance powers, monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious<\/a>, AP found.<\/p>\n Under the Trump administration, billions are now being poured into a vast array of surveillance systems, including license plate readers across the U.S. that have ensnared innocent drivers for little more than taking a quick trip to areas near the border.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alek Schott, who filed a lawsuit alleging violations of his constitutional rights when Texas sheriff\u2019s deputies stopped and searched his vehicle at the request of Border Patrol agents, is photographed, as an infrared beam of light from a Flock Safety automatic license plate reader records passing vehicles driving near his neighborhood, Oct. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Alek Schott, who filed a lawsuit alleging violations of his constitutional rights when Texas sheriff\u2019s deputies stopped and searched his vehicle at the request of Border Patrol agents, is photographed, as an infrared beam of light from a Flock Safety automatic license plate reader records passing vehicles driving near his neighborhood, Oct. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An image of the Dalai Lama and Namkyi, a Tibetan former political prisoner who was arrested and imprisoned at 15 for protesting Chinese rule, are illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as Namkyi sits for a photo at the Office of Tibet, Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n An image of the Dalai Lama and Namkyi, a Tibetan former political prisoner who was arrested and imprisoned at 15 for protesting Chinese rule, are illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as Namkyi sits for a photo at the Office of Tibet, Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader as it records vehicles driving by, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader as it records vehicles driving by, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n In this series of photographs, an infrared filter was used on a modified camera converted to capture the full spectrum of light, including ultraviolet, visible, and infrared.<\/p>\n This filter, which cuts out some visible light to better reveal infrared, is red by design in order to block certain light wavelengths.<\/p>\n AP photographers on three continents snapped photos showing how these beams are used to track vehicles and people, enable facial recognition – and ultimately, assert digital control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang, who openly criticized the Chinese government after seeing first-hand how surveillance technology built up the government\u2019s power and is now being accused of corruption by Beijing, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he stands for a photo in the oil fields of Midland, Texas, where he\u2019s currently living in exile, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang, who openly criticized the Chinese government after seeing first-hand how surveillance technology built up the government\u2019s power and is now being accused of corruption by Beijing, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he stands for a photo in the oil fields of Midland, Texas, where he\u2019s currently living in exile, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Infrared facial recognition beams are emitted from a cellphone held by a Uyghur man, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, as he\u2019s photographed in front of the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 16, 2025, in Washington, where he\u2019s living in exile after escaping China. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Infrared facial recognition beams are emitted from a cellphone held by a Uyghur man, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, as he\u2019s photographed in front of the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 16, 2025, in Washington, where he\u2019s living in exile after escaping China. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Guigiu Chen, who escaped China with her daughters after her husband, prominent rights lawyer Xie Yang, was detained, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as she sits for a photo, Oct. 12, 2025, in Midland, Texas, where she\u2019s living in exile. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Guigiu Chen, who escaped China with her daughters after her husband, prominent rights lawyer Xie Yang, was detained, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as she sits for a photo, Oct. 12, 2025, in Midland, Texas, where she\u2019s living in exile. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Former Xinjiang government engineer Nureli Abliz, who saw firsthand how surveillance technology flagged thousands of people in China for detention, even when they had committed no crime, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he sits for a photo in Mannheim, Germany, where he\u2019s currently living in exile, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Former Xinjiang government engineer Nureli Abliz, who saw firsthand how surveillance technology flagged thousands of people in China for detention, even when they had committed no crime, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as he sits for a photo in Mannheim, Germany, where he\u2019s currently living in exile, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines from a security camera watching over the Wudaoying alley in Beijing, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines from a security camera watching over the Wudaoying alley in Beijing, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dong e Li, a member of a Chinese church living in exile after fleeing from China, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as she sits for a photo in her home, Oct. 13, 2025, in Midland, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Dong e Li, a member of a Chinese church living in exile after fleeing from China, is illuminated by cellphone infrared facial recognition beams as she sits for a photo in her home, Oct. 13, 2025, in Midland, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles passing along U.S. Highway 83, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n An infrared beam of light shines out of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles passing along U.S. Highway 83, Oct. 13, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alek Schott drives past the infrared beam of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles along Interstate 10, a route he occasionally takes for work trips, near Seguin, Texas, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Alek Schott drives past the infrared beam of an automatic license plate reader recording vehicles along Interstate 10, a route he occasionally takes for work trips, near Seguin, Texas, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Goldman)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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