Fears of data abuse as Chinese health code turns red for financial scandal protesters

Bank customers whose deposits are frozen unable to join protests in Zhengzhou because their health QR codes turned red, declaring them a risk to public health. Factory owner escorted from train station by police to university library where he and 10 other victims refused to go home while the matter remained unresolved. — SCMP

Victims of what could be one of China’s largest financial scandals found themselves unable to step outside to join planned protests because their health QR codes had turned red, reigniting fears that the large-scale data collected for contact tracing would be abused for other uses.

Since late May, hundreds of people have taken to the streets in China’s central Henan province, calling for authorities to ensure the return of their deposits that were frozen in four rural banks in the province.