
25/09/2025
🚻🇨🇳 China’s latest “smart” public toilets are sparking heated debate after new dispensers were spotted releasing toilet paper only if users either watch an ad or pay a small fee.
📹 A viral video by China Insider shows a woman scanning a QR code, sitting through an ad, and then receiving just a single strip of paper. The system also offers paid access at 0.5 yuan (≈ $0.07) per use.
🔍 Officials defend the move, saying it’s aimed at cutting down waste after repeated incidents of people taking excessive amounts of free toilet paper.
💡 This isn’t the first time China has tested high-tech restroom controls. Back in 2017, tourist sites installed facial-recognition dispensers that limited each person to one 60 cm strip every nine (later ten) minutes.
😬 But the latest ad-based model has triggered strong backlash online, with critics calling it “dystopian” and vowing to bring their own toilet supplies instead.