https://thenextweb.com/privacy/2019/12/02/china-introduces-mandatory-face-scans-for-new-sim-card-purchases/

The Chinese government loves face recognition and including it in various services for authentication. In its the latest move, it has made it mandatory for people in China to scan their face when signing up for a new mobile or mobile data connection contract.

The new rule, first announced in September by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, took effect from Sunday (December 1). Prior to the law, folks in China just had to provide a copy of their ID card to get a new cellular contract.