Starting today, every mobile phone user in China will have their face scanned, as the authorities want to verify the identities of hundreds of millions of internet users.
For years, China has been trying to introduce regulations to ensure that everyone who uses the Internet does so under their real name.
The government announced that it wants to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in cyberspace.
China is already using facial recognition technology to track its population.
China is the world leader in technologies of this type, but its increasing use across the country in recent years has sparked fierce debate.
When buying or registering a new mobile phone or other device that contains mobile data, Chinese people must show their ID and have their photo taken.
However, they will now have to scan faces to match the photo in the ID.
The bottom line is that the government can identify all mobile phone users, eliminating anonymous phone numbers and internet accounts, thereby strengthening cyber security and reducing online fraud.
The majority of users in China access the Internet via mobile phones, reminds the BBC.
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