Communications of the ACM
China Bank Protest Stopped by Health Codes Turning Red
People line up to enter a branch of China Construction Bank in Shanghai, China after the lockdown placed to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was lifted.
Credit: Aly Song/Reuters
Bank depositors in central China said a planned protest in Henan province by people seeking access to funds frozen by Chinese banks was halted by authorities using COVID surveillance infrastructure to turn health code applications red.
Without a green code on their smartphone app, citizens are barred from public transport, spaces like restaurants and malls, and cross-country travel.
lthough it was impossible to determine that the code change was designed to hinder protesters, three depositors said they knew people who had registered to travel to Henan, who were unaffiliated with the frozen funds, whose codes remained unchanged.
"They are putting digital handcuffs on us," said one depositor.
From Reuters
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