The new rules mark Beijing’s first major attempt to regulate facial recognition, a technology widely adopted around the country – such as at hotel check-ins, entrances to gated communities and to make digital payments.
The regulations aimed to address “growing concerns” among the public about the risks posed to personal data privacy and security, the authorities said.
China is a global leader in the adoption of facial recognition technology, driven by its robust internet industry and relatively lax regulatory environment on privacy protection. It has also heavily integrated facial recognition into its security surveillance network.
The new regulation mandates that “voluntary and explicit consent made on the premise of full knowledge” must be obtained “when processing facial information based on individual consent”.
