The Beijing institute developed the technique to crack an iPhone’s encrypted device log to identify the numbers and emails of senders who share AirDrop content, the city’s judicial bureau said in an online post. Police have identified multiple suspects via that method, the agency said, without disclosing if anyone was arrested. “It improves the efficiency and accuracy of case-solving and prevents the spread of inappropriate remarks as well as potential bad influences,” the bureau said.
Further read: https://sfj.beijing.gov.cn/sfj/sfdt/ywdt82/flfw93/436331732/index.html
To me it seems more like a custom for US/West tech cos to engage in this spying behaviour, as they themselves also benefit from it (ads -> capitalism -> money + data for AI + helping insurance cos and FICO/VantageScore), besides their 3 letter daddies. The “China!” thing is hogwash, because China is engaging in basically the same or lesser surveillance practices as 5/9/14 Eyes governments for much lesser time.