China’s Facial Recognition Tech Rules

China has issued draft rules to oversee the security management of facial recognition technology in the country. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) claims that facial recognition technology will only be used to process facial information when there is a specific purpose and sufficient necessity, and with strict protective measures. The use of the technology will also require individual’s consent, and non-biometric identification solutions should be used vs. facial recognition when both are equally effective.

Biometric identification use is widespread in China to the extent that facial recognition was used to activate toilet roll dispensers in public toilets.

CAC’s draft rules on Tuesday said image-capturing technology should not be installed in hotel rooms, public bathrooms, changing rooms, toilets, and other places that may infringe upon others’ privacy, but they can be installed in public places for public safety purposes with warning signs.

China also introduced its first law in the privacy segment, the Personal Information Protection Law, in 2021 in an attempt to rein in companies’ overuse of user data.