China Court Says ‘No’ to Facial Recognition
A court in Hangzhou, China has ruled that its original decision in China’s first lawsuit relating to the use of facial recognition will be upheld, which gives Chinese citizens the right to approve or disapprove of the use of their facial recognition data. The suit was filed by a law professor that asked for his money back after being told he could not enter the Huangzhou Safari Park without a facial scan. The decision by the People’s Supreme Court states that the collection and analysis of facial data by commercial enterprises must receive independent consent from the individual, and if such is not given it can be the basis for an infringement of personal rights civil lawsuit that can result in fines and/or compensation. In the case above, the professor was awarded ~$158 in compensation and the park was required to delete the facial information and fingerprints that had been used for identification before the facial recognition system was installed. The court did not require the park to refund the professors annual dues.
This has great significance in China as facial recognition is becoming the ‘go-to’ mode for entry to recreation sites, gated communities, and final identifiers in financial transactions, that now will be open to the court’s interpretation, with the state run People’s Daily saying that the ruling gives Chinese citizens the ability to “bravely say no to facial recognition.” While that statement draws headlines and likely will calm some fears about the use of biometric information in China, it certainly will not change the Chinese government’s very extensive surveillance programs, which has the support of over 60% of the citizenry (or at least that’s what the government says) because they feel safer under the programs.
Much of the facial recognition controversy however has to do with the use and storage of such data, much of which is held by commercial businesses and has little regulation as to the protection of the data, leading to some very large data breeches in the past. The Chinese government recently tabled a new personal information protection law that would have standardized data collection and processing, but cybercriminals are so far ahead of even the most stringent mandates that such a new law, if ever passed would make no dent in their nefarious businesses. Facial data is sold in China for as little as $0.07 per face. As the Chinese government is the biggest purchaser of facial recognition equipment and software, facial recognition collection and data rules are oriented toward developers rather than consumers, so one would expect only modest changes to existing rules despite the recent ruling.
All in, commercial operations that have converted to all facial recognition entry will have to offer an alternative and a small segment of the population will request that their facial recognition information be deleted from such sites, but jaywalkers that get caught on camera and identified with facial recognition by the government will still face bans from public transport or similar prohibitions. The wheels of change grind slowly, especially in China.
This has great significance in China as facial recognition is becoming the ‘go-to’ mode for entry to recreation sites, gated communities, and final identifiers in financial transactions, that now will be open to the court’s interpretation, with the state run People’s Daily saying that the ruling gives Chinese citizens the ability to “bravely say no to facial recognition.” While that statement draws headlines and likely will calm some fears about the use of biometric information in China, it certainly will not change the Chinese government’s very extensive surveillance programs, which has the support of over 60% of the citizenry (or at least that’s what the government says) because they feel safer under the programs.
Much of the facial recognition controversy however has to do with the use and storage of such data, much of which is held by commercial businesses and has little regulation as to the protection of the data, leading to some very large data breeches in the past. The Chinese government recently tabled a new personal information protection law that would have standardized data collection and processing, but cybercriminals are so far ahead of even the most stringent mandates that such a new law, if ever passed would make no dent in their nefarious businesses. Facial data is sold in China for as little as $0.07 per face. As the Chinese government is the biggest purchaser of facial recognition equipment and software, facial recognition collection and data rules are oriented toward developers rather than consumers, so one would expect only modest changes to existing rules despite the recent ruling.
All in, commercial operations that have converted to all facial recognition entry will have to offer an alternative and a small segment of the population will request that their facial recognition information be deleted from such sites, but jaywalkers that get caught on camera and identified with facial recognition by the government will still face bans from public transport or similar prohibitions. The wheels of change grind slowly, especially in China.
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