Red, yellow, green or golden: the post-pandemic future of China's health code apps

ABSTRACT

The red, yellow, and green three-colored health code apps (HCAs) have been credited as an effective tool for the COVID-19 response in China, with a golden color added indicating vaccination status in spring 2021. Although the success of HCA as a public health intervention might have legitimized government or corporate surveillance, the scope and contour of post-pandemic HCA use remain unclear. Both officials and tech firms have been promoting broader post-pandemic HCA use for purposes beyond pandemic control. This research draws on theories on privacy, trust, and media engagement to investigate factors affecting Chinese public opinion on HCA's post-pandemic use. Original survey data were collected in 2021 from adult HCA users in two major Chinese cities: Wuhan where COVID-19 cases were first identified and Hangzhou where the first HCA was deployed. Results point to a majority for moderate post-pandemic HCA use, while almost four out of ten users support expansive HCA use and the voice for restricted or terminated use is tiny. Greater acceptance of HCA data use by various institutional stakeholders, greater institutional trust, greater engagement with COVID-19 related social media content increased the support for expansive use.

KEYWORDS:

• Privacy
• trust
• China
• health code apps
• COVID-19 pandemic
• social credit system

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wenhong Chen

Dr. Wenhong Chen is an associate professor of media studies and sociology, the founding co-director of Center for Entertainment and Media Industries, and a Distinguished Scholar in the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Chen has more than 90 publications, including articles in top-ranked journals in the fields of communication and media studies, sociology, and management.

Gejun Huang

Dr. Gejun Huang is a lecturer in journalism at the School of Communication, Soochow University. His research interests touch on the digital game industry, media entrepreneurship, and the digital divide and inclusion.

An Hu

An Hu is a Ph.D. student in Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include environmental communication, climate change, and international communication.