The faces of visitors are displayed on a face recognition technology screen at the China Digital Technology Exhibition in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China.
Face recognition technology is widely used in China and has penetrated into the daily lives of ordinary people, making them “transparent” without privacy. Some experts say that although the Chinese government has introduced draft laws to protect personal information, these laws only scratch the surface of the problem, and that fundamentally the Chinese authorities want to use this technology to turn China into a digital totalitarian state where everyone is at risk.
Face Recognition Technology is Everywhere
In a recent anonymous poll released by the Xinjing think tank with more than 1,500 participants, 87.46% of respondents opposed the use of face recognition technology in commercial areas, 68.64% believed that it should not be used to enter and exit residential areas, while 43% did not want it to be used in hospitals, schools and offices. The poll also said that 96.14% of respondents were concerned that personal information would be leaked, and 51.4% said they were forced to use face recognition technology without choice.
In addition, regarding the use of face recognition, the media group “First Finance” in 2020 “public research report on face recognition application” suggested that more than 90% of the respondents have used face recognition, 60% believe that the technology has a tendency to be misused, 30% said that they have suffered losses due to the leakage and misuse of face information, and some people have been misrepresented because of face resemblance.
The Voice of America interviewed a number of ordinary people about this. They believe that face recognition systems have been misused in practice. Mr. Lin of Wuhan told VOA, “Every Time I go out to a scenic spot, there are those machines – face recognition machines. Is it necessary? It’s very useful for criminals, and it’s a little bit wrong for the privacy aspect of ordinary citizens.”
Mr. Li of Shanghai said, “Now it is the park also engaged in face recognition, do not let just go in; using face recognition of the mall, the management also do not let you go in. In addition, the technology network platform, Internet finance, face recognition technology is misused will be more terrible, this is a problem involving financial security.”
According to Chinese media reports, some public bathrooms have installed cameras to prevent people from stealing toilet paper for face recognition. One photo even circulated online showing a picture of a man wearing a steel helmet angrily smashing a surveillance camera in protest. Also, clocking in and out of work with biometric machines has become a way of Life for many office workers, and there is no alternative to
China Science Times said, face recognition technology has come to a “crossroads”, from the brush face to enter the community triggered resistance, to tourists sued the zoo without consent to collect face information, and then to the sale of a customer wearing a helmet to see the house, 94-year-old man was forced to pick up for face recognition, a series of events into the whirlpool of public opinion.
Face recognition is used for surveillance
According to the latest statistics from Comparitech, a U.S. technology research website, China accounts for 18 of the 20 cities in the world that are heavily monitored by cameras, making it the most heavily monitored country, while data protection is at the bottom of the list.
Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia said the misuse of facial recognition technology is closely linked to government actions. In places such as Shenzhen and Shenyang, once a red light runner enters the camera area, his or her image, name, ID number and other personal information immediately appears on electronic billboards on the street, a “public display” process so fast that it is initiated and completed before the red light runner even reaches the opposite side of the road.
China’s official media, the People’s Daily, has tweeted in English that China can scan 1.4 billion faces in one second.
Engineers at Han Wang Technology in Beijing are developing face recognition technology that can identify people wearing masks. (Reuters, March 6, 2020)
Hu Jia said, “Now because of the Epidemic, China has developed new products in an emergency last year. With a mask, with a hat, the authorities are also immediately able to know who you are, as long as you show your eyes, the eye in that point in the face recognition system will be able to determine, the accuracy rate is said to be more than 85%, and now there is not only face recognition technology, but also gait recognition, that is, you wrap yourself up, walking posture can be recognized.”
Hu Jia said, under the impetus of official surveillance needs, scientific research institutions and enterprises compete fiercely with each other to gradually improve the level of face recognition systems, which not only meets the official needs, but also stimulates the process of civilianization and popularization of this technology.
Everyone is at risk under totalitarian surveillance
There is a growing public backlash against face recognition in China. When you are concerned about your privacy, you will find that face recognition technology has turned you into a ‘transparent person’ without your authorization, without your permission, without having participated in any discussions,” Hu Jia said. In this country, you will find that Big Brother is watching you at all times, and he knows everything.”
Mr. Li from Shanghai said, “Private security guards, mall security guards, community security guards, park security guards, what kind of quality are they? They are all very mobile, very weak cultural knowledge, no basic quality of people, including the quality of their managers, this flood of information is not good, it’s terrible, I am strongly opposed to it.”
NPR quoted Kai Strittmatter, a former German journalist in China, as saying that the CCP’s use of high-tech surveillance is for “internal control,” and that when the people realize the deterrent power of this technology, they will monitor and discipline themselves. “They become their own police.
According to Ma Kai’s recent book “Harmonized: China Under Surveillance,” the Chinese Communist Party has not feared the advancement of new technologies such as information technology, artificial intelligence, and big data to advance the cause of human freedom and threaten its dictatorship, but has increasingly favored these technologies to perfect its rule. No other country in the world, including totalitarian states, can match China in this regard.
Depending on who you ask, some say facial recognition surveillance systems make societies safer and more effective, says the U.S. technology research site “CompareTech. Some say that such systems violate people’s privacy and freedom of movement, or both. Regardless of which side you argue for, however, the use of this real-time surveillance tool is climbing all over the world.
Facial recognition regulations only scratch the surface
Chinese authorities also seem to be grappling with problems in the use of facial recognition. a draft law on the protection of personal information was introduced in December 2020, declaring that facial biometric information, must be used for specific purposes and only when necessary.
In May 2020, China’s National People’s Congress adopted the Civil Code, which also clarifies that personal information is protected by law; in July and October, the Data Security Law (Draft) and the Personal Information Protection Law (Draft) were introduced one after another, and public consultation has been completed.
The relevant opinions put forward, the installation of image capture in public places, personal identification equipment, should be necessary to maintain public safety, comply with relevant state regulations, and set up a significant reminder of the logo.
An independent Chinese commentator who did not want to be named said: “Science and technology development is relatively fast, our bureaucratic system is sometimes slow to respond, in fact, this technology is not unique to China, the technology or from the West. However, I think this technology does get misused in China. A very important issue is that we have not controlled this very sensitive, personal privacy-related technology as Western governments have done, making it wrong to use it arbitrarily, threatening personal information security and even endangering personal safety.”
The source said he supports the government “reining in” the use of technologies such as face recognition, saying it is a socially positive topic that does not antagonize the system.
However, some critics point out that the draft law on personal information protection introduced in China so far is only at the level of personal privacy protection, completely avoiding the fact that it misuses face recognition technology to conduct state surveillance on citizens, especially those it regards as socially unstable factors. The real purpose of this approach is to turn China into a digital totalitarian state that is completely under its control and where everyone is at risk.
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