China mulls first nationwide comprehensive guidelines for use of facial recognition technology

China on Tuesday launched a nationwide initiative to solicit public opinions on draft regulations specifically targeting facial recognition technology, marking the first time that the country has sought to establish comprehensive guidelines for the use of the technology at a national level.

Chinese insiders stated that while facial recognition technology offers convenience and efficiency, concerns have been raised regarding its potential misuse and infringement on individual privacy. These regulations are timely and urgently needed to strike a balance between promoting the development of facial recognition technology and safeguarding privacy.

While affirming the regulations are expected to be a breakthrough for the country in standardizing the protection of personal privacy and national security as AI and other hi-technology continue rapidly developing, they pointed out that the draft needs to be specific and improved as some of its clauses are not practical enough or are too broad.

The draft regulations were released by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). According to the CAC, the public consultation period for these regulations will last for one month, during which individuals and organizations are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions.

The regulations propose strict requirements for the collection, storage, and use of facial recognition data.

According to the draft regulations, organizations using facial recognition technology must obtain consent from individuals before collecting their facial data. They must also clearly state the purpose and scope of data collection, and ensure that the data is used solely for that stated purpose.

The draft states that it is preferable to use non-biometric feature recognition technology solutions.

Unless individual consent has been obtained, or it is in the course of maintaining national security and public safety or protecting the life, health and property of persons in emergency situations, no organization or individual may use facial recognition technology to analyze sensitive personal information such as race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, health status or social class, the draft says.

Additionally, organizations are required to establish strict data protection measures to prevent unauthorized access or data leaks.

The draft says any entities or users that stock more than 10,000 facial recognition data sets should file with cyberspace authorities at or above the city level within 30 working days.

However, Qin An, deputy director of the Expert Committee of Counter-terrorism and Cyber Security Governance, China Society of Police Law, pointed out that the clause alone is not very practical.

"If an agency collects 9,900 pieces of facial information and doesn't report it, it can't be held accountable?" Qin questioned, noting that other clauses should address the limits of this clause.

The regulations also address concerns over the potential abuse of facial recognition technology.

Hotels, banks, railway stations, airports, sports venues, exhibition halls, museums, art galleries, libraries and other business venues may not force, mislead and coerce individuals to accept facial recognition technology to verify their personal identity, unless otherwise stipulated by law or administrative regulations.

Image acquisition and personal identification equipment shall not be installed in hotel rooms, public bathrooms, fitting rooms, toilets and other places where people's privacy may be infringed upon.

Except when legal conditions permit or individual consent has been obtained, users of facial recognition technology may not save original images, pictures or videos of faces.

Qin told the Global Times on Tuesday that the draft comes as facial recognition technology has become increasingly prevalent in sectors including public security, finance and transportation.

With the integration and development of network information technology and biometrics, every country, in order to protect its national security and the safety of its people, will strengthen protection measures and improve relevant laws and regulations, Qin said.

"This is what any responsible government should do for the sake of its citizens' sense of gain, happiness and security, and the Chinese government is one of the responsible national authorities in the international community," Qin noted, in response to some aggressive media outlets that have been hyping slanderous reports that "Beijing uses the facial recognition technology to monitor its people."

The New York Times has reported that China's facial recognition system can profile a minority and smeared the country, saying it uses AI technology to track Muslim minority groups.

Qin stressed that the draft was formulated in order to better protect the biosecurity of the Chinese people. The technology is strictly regulated and any abuse is forbidden, let alone the so-called "tracking of ethnic groups."