China’s home-sharing platforms, including Airbnb, will soon be covered by the public security authority’s mass surveillance network as the first regulations governing online home rentals come into force in early 2019. China’s coastal Zhejiang province recently launched a registration policy for home-sharing businesses, requiring all platforms to submit information on apartments for rent, hosts and guests to the local public security authority from Jan 1. The new policy comes amid rising concerns over potential public security challenges brought by the online home-sharing model, which allows homeowners to rent apartments to strangers without meeting offline. A notice published by the official site of the Zhejiang Public Security Department said the policy aims to safeguard the operational safety of the home-sharing business as well as protect social order. Transactions in the home-sharing business are expected to reach 50bil yuan (RM30.2bil) by 2020.

Source: The Star December 18, 2018 07:41 UTC