China seeks to regulate facial recognition technology

China has announced new regulatory rules requiring companies utilizing facial recognition technology to obtain legal consent or authorization before collecting personal information. This development comes from a draft regulation published on Tuesday in the country that has made significant strides in this technology.

China is one of the countries with the highest number of surveillance cameras across its vast territory, and the most efficient models use facial recognition technology to aid law enforcement operations.

Furthermore, this technology's application for personal identity recognition is increasingly widespread in private settings, especially at the entrances of residential buildings, companies, and hotels. Additionally, the use of facial recognition for payment purposes is also gaining traction.

However, the new regulatory draft stipulates that facial recognition technology should only be used in cases of "extreme necessity," and other means of identity verification should be prioritized.

The text adds that "processing facial information should be carried out after individual or written consent, in accordance with the law."

It states that "no organization or individual shall use facial recognition for the purpose of analyzing racial or religious identity (...) except when necessary for national security." The draft is open for public discussion until September 7th.

The U.S. Treasury Department has blacklisted several Chinese companies, accusing them of developing facial recognition technology specifically targeting Uighur members. China has been accused of oppressing this ethnic group in Xinjiang, northwest of the country.

Among these companies is SenseTime, which designs facial recognition applications and images used particularly for crowd monitoring and identity verification. China has seen the emergence of numerous startups in this field.

During an exhibition in Beijing in June, several companies showcased products capable of identifying "undesirable" behavior and scanning faces from distances exceeding 100 meters to Agence France-Presse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP