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Facial recognition
TechInnovation

Facial recognition is used in China for everything from refuse collection to toilet roll dispensers and its citizens are growing increasingly alarmed, survey shows

  • Almost 90 per cent of respondents said they do not want facial recognition in commercial areas, Beijing News survey shows
  • Data leaks and privacy remain top concerns, with respondents giving support to more regulation

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Facial recognition use has been widespread in China including commercial areas, residential complexes and public places such as undergrounds. Photo: Xinhua
Masha Borak

From streets filled with cameras to apps that require biometric identification, facial recognition use has been growing in China but a new survey by a state media outlet indicates that Chinese residents are sceptical about the use of the technology in public spaces.

A survey of 1,515 anonymous Chinese residents by Beijing News Think Tank on Tuesday found that 87.46 per cent of respondents oppose the use of facial recognition technology in commercial zones.

And 68.64 per cent thought that facial recognition should not be used to access residential areas, while disapproval of its use in places like hospitals, schools and offices ranged between 43 and 52 per cent.

Concerns over facial recognition use in public spaces in China, such as shopping malls and scenic spots, caught public attention in 2019 when the first lawsuit challenging the use of facial recognition in the country was filed by Guo Bing, an associate law professor at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, against a wildlife park in Hangzhou.
The lawsuit was resolved in late 2020 when a local court ruled in Guo’s favour, ordering the park to delete the professor’s facial recognition data. More pushback came in March last year when Lao Dongyan, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, contested the introduction of facial scan locks to enter residential complexes, citing data security concerns.

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China’s facial recognition technology identifies people wearing masks amid the Covid-19 epidemic

China’s facial recognition technology identifies people wearing masks amid the Covid-19 epidemic

“Traditionally the emphasis on privacy and personal data protection among Chinese citizens has not been as high as their counterparts in other jurisdictions,” said Catherine Zheng, a partner at law firm Deacons. ”Despite [this] Chinese citizens are sceptical towards the misappropriation of sensitive personal information for unethical commercial practices.”

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